Steinway M

[John M. Formsma]

>List,
>
>Today brought me to a Steinway M that had been rebuilt some 15-20 years
ago.
>The finish was very nice, but for some reason, the rear duplex was muted
>off.  I know that this is supposed to contribute to the "Steinway sound"
and
>wondered whether I should remove the stringing cloth.  Any thoughts??
>
>John Formsma
>Blue Mountain, MS


Brian H wrote:
<<<<Yank the cloth.  If there is some wild howling (which I really doubt),
or
something objectionable, then remute only as necessary.  The low tenor
duplex are often muted off to a degree>>>>

Ron N wrote:
<<<<Why not? If doing so fails to produce the "Steinway Sound", or produces
some variation of the "Mutant Noise", you can always re-braid. Sounds like a
cheap educational opportunity to me. Heck, you might get lucky!>>>>

Thanks.  That's what I was thinking of doing.  I also have to replace an
agraffe when I return.  A previous tech had attempted a replacement before,
but looks like he chose the wrong type of agraffe.  That, or the plate
threads were messed up, and he didn't want to fiddle with it anymore. The
replaced agraffe was higher than its neighbors.  This was intentionally left
this way because the hammer height was raised in an attempt to keep the
touch the same as the others.  This will be my first agraffe replacement,
and I figure I can at least do better than that.  :-)


John Formsma
Blue Mountain, MS