Alternate Pinning Patterns

In addition to the Early Arrangements that are found for low numbered cobs (1-47+ and 101-234+), there are many cobs found with two or more different pinning patterns. Most of these are found in the same low number range of cobs that have early arrangements but there are a few found at higher numbers.

Alternate Pinning Patterns include:

• Early Arrangements, often with additional Octave Notes.
• A note for note or very similar arrangement with a different length layout. This results in the pin runs being shifted and the cobs are described as having a different “stretch”. This may also result if there is simply a different length pause on one of the cobs.
• A cob with systematic differences in pin counts for some notes. Later production cobs seem to have more random errors in pin counts, that is; the first pin for a particular note is in the same place but the number of trailing pins is different. This may be due to a change in the production process but it is not believed to be due to a change in the pinning pattern.
• A production error that is found on multiple cobs probably due to an error in the pinning pattern.
• A cob originally having runs of very closely spaced or Crowded Single Pin Notes that is later modified by reducing the number of notes and increasing the spacing between the notes. These are most often found in cobs numbered in the 1000s and 1100s.

Although it is not known why all of the different pinning patterns were made, the fact that most of the changes occur in the low numbered cobs suggests that a production change may have required new pinning patterns for many of the earlier cobs.

The table below lists the cobs for which alternate pinning versions have been documented. Pictures comparing the different versions are found under the Photos link for the individual cob numbers. In the comparison photos, an attempt is made to show the cob versions in order, latest on the left, earliest on the right; however it is not always possible to be sure of the order. The different versions have been assigned letter designations. The letter designation “e” is reserved for the early alternate arrangement. The version without a letter designation is usually the latest or most common version.

Click here to see a list of low numbered cobs for which only one pinning pattern has been found and links to photos for comparison.