Old Bosie

[Dave Nereson]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Richard Brekne" <Richard.Brekne@grieg.uib.no>
To: "Newtonburg" <pianotech@ptg.org>
Sent: Monday, January 05, 2004 12:27 PM
Subject: Old Bosie


> Hi folks...
>
> I had the pleasure of checking out an old, real old Bosendorfer this
> eveing. Serial number 8224 puts it at around 1877. Straight strung, with
> two struts, and no iron plate for the hitch pins. Struts were bolted
> into a wooden hitch pin plank, and were embeded into the front plank
> just forward of the pinblock. 4 bolts through the soundboard into the
> beam structure for the long strut, 1 for the short. Johannes Brahms had
> an identical instrument in his time, and it is still in one of the
> houses where he lived.
>
> This one is fully playable, actually just had new leather put on the
> hammers. Pretty darn well regulated, heavy as can be... no
> counterbalancing at all. Made for some great pianismo control tho... you
> could play reeeeeaaaaaallllly soft with no problem... except you needed
> good finger strength.
>
> The owner just purchased it from the continent for 500 Eurodollars...
> about 550 USD I guess. He wants to know what the recommended pitch for
> this instrument is. Anybody have a clue ? I told him to tune it to 432 -
> 434 until he had firm information. Modern string material and tuning
> pins have been installed at some point... not too long ago either from
> the looks of it.
>
> Neat old piano... charming sound, not thinned out at all tho sustain in
> the upper treble is not all that tremendous.
>
> Cheers
> RicB
> _______________________________________________
> pianotech list info: https://www.moypiano.com/resources/#archives
>
    A customer of mine has a similar piano.  It's a 7-foot Bluthner, built
in 1856.  Straight strung -- no overstrung bass.  Three or four struts that
extend from the pinblock to the back of the piano.  No cast iron plate.
It's been restrung and brought up to A440 (not by me).  I still tune it (at
440) 25 years later and it sounds great and is structurally intact.  Someone
like Owen Jorgensen may know what pitch was used by builders at that time
period.
    --David Nereson, RPT