Moutrie spinet from Hong Kong

[DGPEAKE@AOL.COM]

In a message dated 11/15/99 10:50:01 AM Pacific Standard Time, 
dabell58@earthlink.net writes:

<< Dear List,
 On Saturday I went for "a tuning" at a new client's house. Turns out
 that the family came from Hong Kong to Boston seven months ago on a
 fellowship. For their musical eight-year-old daughter, they had brought
 -- by ship -- a Moutrie spinet. (No serial number visible, no age known,
 had a history of being tuned below pitch according to the mother.)
 The first thing I saw was a felt practice mute in which the felt seemed
 to be nailed to unsanded lath, with a metal cover along the length of
 the lath which had warped out so that it flared away from the wood.
 There were what looked like wrinkles in the plate, particularly just
 above the tenor break -- no visible cracks but the surface looked like
 sculpted wrinkled drapery. The veneer on the case sides was chipped and
 pieces of veneer were missing.
 There were about 10-12 pins which did not hold at all -- when I took my
 hand off the hammer it would spin right back counterclockwise. Tapping
 had no effect (I tried it on one pin). The "spinning pins" were all
 right-hand pins, so I was concerned about pin block failure along the
 lower edge.
 In addition, two of the paired wound bass strings broke while being
 tuned (the second of each pair survived).
 The client conveyed that she truly wanted the piano tuned if at all
 possible. Given the technical situation above, some communication
 difficulty, and the family's financial limits, I ended up tuning to 100
 cents flat (the pitch of A4 when I arrived), felt-muting off the strings
 which absolutely would not hold, and advising the client that she should
 put no more money into this instrument. I gave her names of some
 reliable dealers for sales and rentals.
 Is there anything else I could have done for this client? She told me
 that she plans to call me for advice after she and her husband decide
 how to proceed (sales, rental, keyboard, or whatever).
 Thanks for any advice and direction,
 Dorrie Bell
 
 Dorothy A. Bell
 Associate Member, PTG
 
 
 
Welcome to the world of Chinese pianos.  I have yet to see a good one come 
from China where the Moutrie was made, and only until recently, some Yamaha's 
in better condition.  Best to send it back to where it came from or junk it.

Dave Peake, RPT
Portland Chapter
Oregon City, OR