Kranich & Bach

[Ken Jankura]

I worked on one a few years ago, before I knew better :-), and I think the
action is very much like the old steinway uprights. I remember the brass
3-coil lock washers on everything, and the fact that the dampers are pinned
in place, that is, the dampers could not be removed from the flange except
by taking out the centerpin (unlike the Steinway), which makes it a royal
pain to work on. The tuning pins were wonderfully tight and I was amazed at
the quality of the sound, old strings and all. The strings run at a rather
radical angle to the plane of the soundboard, if I remember correctly.
Funny flip-around music desk and great ivory. Little brass cups instead of
capstans. It's probably worth not very much but might make somebody real
happy to play it, if it's fixed up. Go for it and good luck. 
Ken Jankura
Newburg, PA

At 09:25 PM 7/15/99 +0100, you wrote:
>Dear List,
>
>A customer just obtained #14616 (about 1882) Kranich & Bach upright and is
>wondering about its value.  The action is unique in comparison to other
>pianos I service.  Would anyone have a good guess as to its value?
>
>The case is a little beat up, but not bad.
>
>The worst part of the piano is a badly cracked bass bridge.  The soundboard
>is excellent.
>
>Surprisingly, after having been stored in a garage for however many years,
>the piano is very close to 440--it will not even need a pitch raise.  The
>pins are nice and tight.
>
>Some hammers are wobbly.  If butt flanges have to be replaced, will Schaff
>#514 1/2 flanges work?  The hammer butt and damper connect to the same
>flange.  Any tips on removing them easily?
>
>Thanks for any help.
>
>Arlie
>
>
>
>Arlie D. Rauch
>Glendive, MT
>
>If you have nothing better to do, check out
>http://members.tripod.com/~Turbooster/.  You'll be glad you did.
>
>
>
>