Hmmm... You just gave me an idea for a brand new web page. It will be titled "Getting Started" or "Where Do I Begin?"

Naturally, having a basic understanding of how the player piano is suppose to function and basic knowledge of the operating characteristics of the various parts within the system is paramount to determining

Player pianos are a lot like people. When they "die", it typically happens in one of three ways: by accident, slowly, or quickly. If we remove "by accident' from the equation, that leaves us with 'slowly' or 'quickly'. Of the two, 'quickly' is generally 'better' because it will usually involves only one component. 'Slowly' usually indicates that the whole system is basically worn out and in need of restoration, which is very involved and costly.

If you're mechanically inclined, and the player died quickly, you'll need a service manual. That way, you can see how the system is put together and you can determine if something simply 'came apart' or 'broke', and you can fix the problem. However, since there are more than 90 makes of player systems, you'll need to figure out which one you have before you can do anything else. To do that, go to the 'Makers' page and follow the instructions.

https://www.player-care.com/makers.html

Note: Over 80% of all player pianos have one of the first ten systems in the listing of 'System Makers'.

https://www.player-care.com/makers.html#list

If you're mechanically 'gifted', and it died quickly, examine the operation of the various levers to see what operates what and look for things that seem 'out of place' or 'not functioning' -like a piece of loose linkage, cracked or loose tubing, wooden pieces that have come apart or unglued, or parts that have broken and fallen off. If nothing 'jumps out' at you, go to the "Testing the Player" page and start checking each of the major components, to determine which one has a problem.