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Player piano enthusiast keeps 12 huge instruments at his home

WINNIPEG — They’re considered the original jukebox.

But it wasn’t the music behind player pianos that first caught Alan Turner’s ear, it was the mechanics under the wood and the way they really made the notes sing.

“The technology from 100 years ago, it’s just amazing that these machines produced the music as well as they did.”

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Turner heard his first player piano when he was just a teen, but he knew he was going to need a little more space if he wanted to start repairing and refurbishing the century-old technology. When he finally moved into a bigger home about 14 years ago, the engineer by trade went to work.

His first player piano took about 200 hours to fix.

Today, he has a dozen in his home, two in the shed.

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“A stamp collection would be easier,” jokes Turner, “but it wouldn’t be as much fun.”

Turner’s collection is featured this week on Focus Manitoba, Saturday and Sunday at 6:30 p.m.

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