Re Otto Higel Co

[Ray Hopland]

Laurence;

        I have tuned and pitch raised many Henery Herberts and have found
them to be a good quality instrument.  Henry Herberts were made by Mason &
Risch and the player mechanism has no bearing on the piano.  Mason & Risch
used several different player mechanisms of which the Metalnola was not one
that I know of.

        Check the piano over for structural soundness ( bridges, soundboard,
pinblock etc.) and if all seem OK, go ahead and raise the pitch to A440,
however your pitch raising method is, advise the customer that you cannot
guarantee that some strings might or might not break (if you have three or
more break forget A440) which is no big deal, but most importantly, advise
the customer that the added tension could break the frame. This can occur if
the frame was not cooled properly, the frame was improperly installed or the
wooden frame or backposts have warped over the years.  None of these
potential problems can be identified by a technician as the cooling process
was somethig that only the plate casters had control over, or if the wooden
back frame does not fit the plate, only removal of the plate would show the
flaw.  The odds of a plate breaking are exremely small as I have only seen
four in 37 years.   But it's much better to be forewarned.

        I just looked at a Henry Herbert today that is slightly more that
100 cents flat.  I will pull it up about 15 to 20 cents sharp streching the
octaves by about 10 cents sharp tuning all the strings at one time and
hopefully I will be able to do a fine tuning the second time around.  If it
is a little sharp when I am finished I know it will drift down a little
anyway.  Hope this helps.

Ray Hopland