List The UiB just took over care of a Gottlieb Hafner forte' on tuesday. This example was built in 1830 and is in quite good condition with very much of the origional parts and workmanship still intact. It was restored in 1994 by Edwin Beunck and Anton Wenninch. At that time the dampers (not just the felt) were replaced with newly built copies of the origionals. There are some really neat features of this instrument. First and formost it sounds absolutely wonderfull. Clean as a whistle really, full and round sound which is pretty rich in overtones. Definatly not a powerfull instrument, but it projects well enough. There are only 4 tones that have wound strings. Then it goes over to a string type that contains what appears to be some significant amount of brass. All notes are bichords and these lower notes have a really beautifull sound. I was really suprised to hear so much of what I like best in bass strings, and so little of what I like worst. For you folks with building interests... the bridge (grin..... no doubt very moveable) was predictably enough anything but massive. Perhaps an inch by and inch, or something along those lines. Itty bitty bridge pins, and those were used for the front termination as well. I will get some pictures. The soundboard grain ran directly back from the keyboard, paraelle with the long side of the instrument. The underside was fully enclosed except for a small trapizoid shaped opening in the middle. This was closed by a metal screen (like the old screen windows). Ribs ran at about 30 degrees off the long side and were perhaps 1.5 inches wide and not more then 0.5 high. Obviously not the stiffest of configurations available, but some amount of extra mass on the underside. When we get a chance we will record some on it, take some pictures and make this all available to anyone interested. My first reaction after hearing this played was.... "Why on earth did they stop making these things ?"... Completely different animal then the modern day grand. Really, an entirely different, if closely related, instrument. I loved it !! It will be tuned at first to the Young Well Temperament, and I think I am going to get them to let me put on BB's EBVT for evaluation a bit later on. No doubt we will fool around with differing temperaments as time goes by. -- Richard Brekne RPT, N.P.T.F. Bergen, Norway mailto:rbrekne@broadpark.no http://home.broadpark.no/~rbrekne/ricmain.html
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