Terry & list, To answer your questions directly. #1 These instruments should Never be used by students. I should qualify that by saying they should never be used by begining students. Reason? These instruments will never SOUND like nor PLAY like a modern instrument. They are not designed that way. When a student goes to the teacher's, he/she is doing the lesson on a modern piano, (hopefully). Then the student goes home to practice on something other than a modern piano. It doesn't sound like the teacher's piano and doesn't respond like the teacher's piano. This, IMHO, causes confusion, on the part of the student, and eventually leads to the student getting frustrated. End result, a bad musical experience for the student AND the parents. #2 The scaling of these pianos is different, in many ways. To begin with, the scale balance is totally out of whack. This one factor, IMHO, is why most techs and players hate them. The Bass bridge strings start out with a length that is at least equal to that of a 7' Grand. By the time we get to the upper, (tenor), section of the bass bridge, the length is equal to approx. a 5' to 5'3" piano. Now, that in itself is enough to mess up any balance. But, THEN, we get to the treble bridge. The first strings are about the length of a 6' Grand and get, (quickly), shorter to the point of the bridge, where it takes a hard right turn. At that point the strings are shorter than just about any piano known to man. THEN, we get to around the hard right turn and all the strings are TOO LONG for any kind of upper treble scale! All these things have to be considered in proper(?) scale evaluation and change. AND IF THAT AINT ENOUGH, we have to ALWAYS keep in mind the problem of "Cheek Lift", which is ever present in these instruments. A rule I have is: If the piano has "cheek Lift", I will not rebuild it, as the structure has already begun to self-destruct and will never be even slightly acceptable in end result. I hope this answers your immediate questions. Best Regards, Joe Garrett, Oregon
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