QRS Music Technologies
QRS Music Technologies is an American maker of player-piano systems, digital piano automation products, and recordings for automated pianos, with roots in the piano-roll industry.
Last updated November 4, 2026
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Overview
QRS Music Technologies is an American musical-instrument technology company whose history spans piano rolls, phonograph records, radios, and modern automated-piano systems. It was established in 1900 in Chicago as the Q•R•S Music Company by Melville Clark, who was also associated with Story & Clark Piano Company. The original business produced perforated paper piano rolls for player pianos, a major form of domestic musical entertainment in the early twentieth century. QRS became especially important because it recorded performances rather than merely converting written sheet music into mechanically playable rolls. In 1912, it introduced the QRS marking piano, a mechanism that captured aspects of a live pianist's performance while the musician played. This process enabled the company to issue hand-played rolls associated with performers and helped preserve interpretations from the pre-radio and early-recording eras. Its catalog was connected with ragtime, jazz, popular, and classical performers, including Charley Straight, Fats Waller, James P. Johnson, Igor Stravinsky, George Gershwin, and Duke Ellington. The first hand-played QRS roll identified in the reference material was Charley Straight's performance of “Pretty Baby.” The company expanded its manufacturing footprint during the peak of the player-piano market. By 1920, it had production activity in Chicago and San Francisco and had opened a large five-story factory in the Bronx, New York. New York became an important center for its recording operations. QRS reportedly produced approximately eleven million rolls in 1926, illustrating the scale that the player-piano business reached before radio and recorded sound displaced much of the market. QRS also entered the disc-record business during the 1920s. Its record-label activities included reissues connected with Gennett Records, a later jazz and blues series, a country series, and a short-lived budget line of commercial dance-band and vocal recordings issued through the Cova Record Corporation. Artists associated with the label's documented releases included Ed Bell, Clarence Williams, Katherine Henderson, Clifford Gibson, the South Street Ramblers, Earl Hines, James “Stump” Johnson, Sara Martin, Anna Bell, Edith North Johnson, and Missionary Josephine Miles. The QRS record-label operation was historically significant but did not become the company's lasting business. In 1929, QRS purchased the DeVry Corporation, a maker of movie cameras and projectors, and adopted the name QRS-DeVry. Beginning in 1932, it sold or separated various divisions. Max Kortlander, the company's recording manager, acquired the New York assets and operated them under the Imperial Industrial Corporation name before the QRS name returned in the 1940s. Ownership later changed hands, including a 1966 purchase by Ramsi Tick, manager of the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, and a 1987 purchase by Richard A. Dolan. The headquarters moved to Buffalo in 1967. A revival of interest in player pianos during the 1960s encouraged QRS to reconnect with its technological heritage. The company restored its 1912 marking piano, completing the work in 1971. Later recordings made with that instrument involved artists such as Liberace, Peter Nero, Ferrante & Teicher, George Shearing, Roger Williams, and Eubie Blake. The instrument was recognized in 1992 by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers as a National Historical Engineering Landmark. QRS continued to sell piano rolls and expanded its connection with player-piano hardware. In the early 1990s, it was selling approximately a quarter-million rolls annually and acquired Classic Player Piano, described in the reference material as the last remaining manufacturer of player pianos, to support its supply of instruments. However, roll sales declined substantially over the following years as the installed base of traditional player pianos contracted and consumer entertainment shifted toward digital formats. During the 2000s, QRS became the last known manufacturer of piano rolls after an Australian producer stopped making them. Annual sales were reported at about 50,000 rolls in 2006, with much of the remaining catalog consisting of popular songs. QRS manufactured its final piano roll at the Buffalo plant on December 31, 2006. The recording was “Spring Is Here,” performed by Buffalo-based pianist Michael T. Jones, and was identified as the company's 11,060th different recording. Some equipment was moved to the company's plant in Seneca, Pennsylvania, in the hope that roll production might eventually resume. The last batch of rolls left the QRS plant in 2008, marking the end of regular manufacturing even though the company continued to handle parts, rolls, labels, boxes, and related inventory. Since 1993, QRS has also maintained a business in new player pianos and mechanisms. Its contemporary offering centers on Pianomotion, a system designed to convert conventional pianos into automated or player pianos, alongside selected pre-fitted instruments and associated recordings. QRS therefore represents a transition from mechanical music media to digitally controlled piano automation while retaining an archival connection to the piano-roll era.
History
QRS Music Technologies began in Chicago in 1900 as the Q•R•S Music Company, founded by Melville Clark to manufacture piano rolls for the rapidly expanding player-piano market. The company became known for recording performances in a form that could be reproduced by an automated piano. Its 1912 QRS marking piano was an early system for capturing a pianist's playing directly, rather than preparing a roll solely by transcribing written notes. The resulting catalog included ragtime, jazz, popular, and classical performances and is associated with figures including Charley Straight, Fats Waller, James P. Johnson, Igor Stravinsky, George Gershwin, and Duke Ellington. During the 1920s, QRS operated production facilities in Chicago and San Francisco and established a large factory in the Bronx. The company reached substantial scale, reportedly cutting eleven million rolls in 1926. It also entered the record business, issuing several series of shellac discs. Early releases included reissues associated with Gennett Records; a later series, overseen by Art Satherley, covered jazz, blues, and country performers; and a short-lived 1930 series issued by the Cova Record Corporation focused on commercial dance bands and vocals. The QRS record label was comparatively brief and should be understood as one part of the company's broader mechanical-music business rather than its enduring identity. QRS broadened its corporate scope in 1929 by acquiring DeVry Corporation, a manufacturer of movie cameras and projectors, and taking the QRS-DeVry name. In 1932, the company began disposing of or separating divisions. Recording manager Max Kortlander acquired the New York assets and operated them as Imperial Industrial Corporation before reviving the QRS name in the 1940s. Later ownership changes included Ramsi Tick's purchase in 1966 and Richard A. Dolan's purchase in 1987. The company moved its headquarters to Buffalo in 1967. The player-piano market experienced a revival in the 1960s, giving QRS an opportunity to emphasize its historical expertise. The company's 1912 marking piano was restored and returned to operation in 1971. Recordings made with the instrument later involved Liberace, Peter Nero, Ferrante & Teicher, George Shearing, Roger Williams, and Eubie Blake. In 1992, the American Society of Mechanical Engineers recognized the marking piano as a National Historical Engineering Landmark. QRS remained involved in player-piano hardware and software. Beginning in 1993, it continued selling new player pianos and mechanisms. In the early 1990s, the company reportedly sold around 250,000 rolls per year and purchased Classic Player Piano to secure a source of instruments. Demand for physical rolls then declined for roughly the next fifteen years. By the first decade of the 2000s, QRS was described as the world's last piano-roll manufacturer after an Australian producer stopped production. Annual volume had fallen to approximately 50,000 rolls by 2006. On December 31, 2006, QRS produced its final piano roll at the Buffalo factory. The roll was “Spring Is Here,” performed by Michael T. Jones, and was identified as the company's 11,060th distinct recording. Equipment was moved to the Seneca, Pennsylvania, plant in the hope that production could eventually return. In 2008, the last batch of rolls left the QRS plant, effectively ending regular manufacturing. The company continued to sell or distribute remaining rolls, labels, boxes, parts, and related materials. QRS's contemporary business is centered on player-piano technology rather than mass production of paper rolls. Its Pianomotion mechanism is designed to automate existing pianos, and the company also offers selected pre-fitted player pianos and recordings used by automated instruments. The business therefore links early twentieth-century mechanical music with modern digitally controlled piano systems.
- 2008
Final batch of rolls leaves the plant
[1]The last batch of rolls exited the QRS plant, ending the regular manufacturing era.
- 2006
Final piano roll is manufactured
[1]QRS made its last piano roll, “Spring Is Here,” recorded by Michael T. Jones.
- 1993
Continued modern player-piano business
[1]QRS continued selling new player pianos and mechanisms.
- 1992
Marking piano designated a historical engineering landmark
[1]The American Society of Mechanical Engineers recognized the QRS marking piano as a National Historical Engineering Landmark.
- 1987
Richard A. Dolan purchases QRS
[1]Richard A. Dolan acquired the company.
- 1971
Marking-piano restoration completed
[1]QRS restored its 1912 marking piano to operating condition.
- 1967
Headquarters move to Buffalo
[1]QRS moved its headquarters to Buffalo, New York.
- 1966
Ramsi Tick purchases the company
[1]Ramsi Tick, manager of the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, acquired QRS.
- 1932
Divestiture of divisions begins
[1]QRS began selling or separating divisions, including the New York assets later operated by Max Kortlander.
- 1929
DeVry acquisition
[1]QRS purchased DeVry Corporation and adopted the QRS-DeVry name.
Products and positioning
A specialist musical-technology brand combining historic piano-roll expertise with modern player-piano conversion systems and automated-piano recordings.
Mechanical music media · 1900
Piano rolls
QRS's original and historically defining product was the perforated paper piano roll, read by player-piano mechanisms to reproduce music. The company issued both transcribed and hand-played rolls, with the latter intended to preserve elements of an individual pianist's timing and dynamics. Its catalog covered popular music, ragtime, jazz, blues, country, and other repertoire. QRS made its final roll in 2006 and the last batch left the plant in 2008.
Performance-recording equipment · 1912
QRS marking piano
Introduced in 1912, the QRS marking piano was designed to capture a live pianist's performance onto a piano roll. It helped QRS develop a catalog identified with particular performers rather than relying only on manual note transcription. The original instrument was restored in 1971 and later recognized as a National Historical Engineering Landmark by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers.
Phonograph records · 1920
QRS records
QRS operated a short-lived record-label business during the 1920s and early 1930s. Its releases included Gennett-related reissues, jazz and blues recordings, country recordings, and a later budget series of commercial dance-band and vocal performances. The label's documented artists included Clarence Williams, Earl Hines, Sara Martin, Ed Bell, and others. This activity was historically notable but did not become the company's continuing core business.
Player-piano automation system
Pianomotion
Pianomotion is QRS's modern mechanism for converting an ordinary piano into an automated or player piano. It represents the company's shift from manufacturing paper rolls toward electronically controlled piano automation. The system is intended to work with recordings that drive the instrument and is offered alongside selected pre-fitted player pianos and related components.
Musical instruments
Pre-fitted player pianos
QRS continues to offer some pianos equipped for automated playback rather than limiting its business to retrofit mechanisms. These instruments combine a conventional piano with player-piano controls and the recordings or control data needed for automatic performance. They extend QRS's historical role in player-piano entertainment into a contemporary instrument format.
Brand decisions
2006
End regular piano-roll productionGeneration changeBackground
Sales of physical rolls had fallen sharply as traditional player pianos declined and digital entertainment formats expanded.
Action taken
QRS manufactured its final piano roll at the Buffalo factory and moved some equipment to Seneca, Pennsylvania, while leaving open the possibility of future production.
Aftermath
The last batch left the plant in 2008, and QRS's ongoing business shifted toward player-piano mechanisms, pre-fitted instruments, recordings, and remaining parts and materials.
1990
Acquire Classic Player PianoM&ABackground
QRS needed access to player-piano instruments while continuing to sell piano rolls and support the player-piano market.
Action taken
The company acquired Classic Player Piano, described in the reference material as the last remaining manufacturer of player pianos.
Aftermath
The acquisition provided a source of pianos for QRS's roll business during the 1990s.
1929
Acquire DeVry CorporationM&ABackground
QRS sought to broaden its business beyond piano rolls and related musical products during the expansion of early twentieth-century entertainment technology.
Action taken
The company acquired DeVry Corporation, a producer of movie cameras and projectors, and changed its name to QRS-DeVry.
Aftermath
The diversification did not remain permanent; QRS began selling off various divisions in 1932.
Sources1 sources
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