Piano Warrenty/False Beats

[Jon Page]

At 05:26 PM 01/16/2001 -0600, you wrote:
> >We both know the only way to really solve this problem is to either
> >discontinue the use of bridge pins as we know them and develop something
> >else entirely, or switch to horizontally laminated bridge cap stock.
> >
> >I realize that neither of these options has much chance of being adopted
> >right away. They are simply not 'traditional.'
> >
> >Del
>
>Yea we do, and no they aren't. Pity. So perhaps for those very reasons, the
>manufacturers should be bugged about it at every opportunity. Kawai did,
>after all, have the sense and guts to buck tradition and entrenched
>plastiphobia with the ABS action parts. Maybe eventually, the builders will
>answer the warranty hotline instead of the designers and start a thought
>process or two. Somebody's got to do it.
>
>
>Ron N


I replaced a bass bridge cap on an old player upright, which had been 
'restored'
by the local duct tape and silicone caulking guy, with a Delignit pin block 
material
cap about eight years ago.

The piano was recently given to someone who called me to 'get it working'.
"I don't want to spend a lot of money on this", they say as you walk in the 
door.

AH!  this ole wreck,  with careful explanation I point out to the customer 
what is
involved to "just" get it operating (to see what doesn't work').

Sparing you  the gory details, I was able to get the piano to play-away.
I had to insist, no, stand my ground on giving it a rudimentary tuning which he
agreed later was an improvement.

OK, so this is driving nails into concrete. But I received a call today 
from an accomplished
pianist to replace a few broken strings on a S&S B.  I mentioned that it 
has been a while
since the last tuning and that it might be a good time to tune it as 
well.  They said that it's
sounding quite well and that it's better this way because after a tuning it 
takes a few weeks
before likes it sounds good.  I had suspected this from our brief 
encounters and never really
gave it more than a brisk once-over.   Either it says something about my 
tuning or about some
persons in a piano-oriented directorial position.  This piano, I can 
catagorize as the worst B
on the market.   The jack halts the key, 1/16" before the front rail 
felt.  Talk about poor geometry
and people falling for the "stiff action" PR.  Of course I increased the 
hammer blow and attenuated
the key dip; which threw it out ot proper specs but, it worked.  No money 
to 'make it right' just 'make it work'
Standard Operting Procedure.

Oh yeah, the bridge looked great, just like I put it in; and the piano 
wasn't too flat , considering.

I think pianos fit somewhere between romance and reality.    yesterday I 
was at someone's house...
well, that's another story,

Regards from the field (the shop's too full to tear apart another piano, 
send customers),


Correlation?  Tuning perseption, what is 'good sounding'



Jon Page,   piano technician
Harwich Port, Cape Cod, Mass.
mailto:jonpage@mediaone.net
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