Piano evaluation proposal

[Avery]

Terry,

I basically agree with James, but I'd love to see what someone who 
know's what he's doing, with a lot of money available, could do with 
one of these!

Avery

At 01:04 PM 6/13/2006, you wrote:
>Oh, I pretty much agree with you in principle James. But there are 
>situations where grandma's piano will be the only piano in the 
>house, the owners want a high performance piano, and they are 
>willing to spend money. In such a situation, all can be winners. 
>Keep in mind also, that I am talking about using the rim (with 
>modifications) and plate (with modifications) and action (with 
>modifications) to basically build a new piano. So I would be willing 
>to argue the point that the experience of tuning a 90 year old K&B 
>doesn't say much regarding what one could do with such a salvage instrument.
>
>Terry Farrell
>
>----- Original Message -----
>>Having tuned many of these (everyone's favorites) the old K&Bs are 
>>best left to rot.  Anyone putting $30K into one has got to be nuts.
>>James
>>James Grebe
>
>>----- Original Message ----- This sounds like a potential fabulous 
>>opportunity for a rebuilder. The K&B are generally well-built 
>>pianos. 1912 should have metal action brackets - but yes, the 
>>actions do have weird parts - the action will be more expensive to 
>>properly rebuild than normal - either need to use custom parts, or 
>>convert to more traditional action.
>>
>>The owners obviously know it needs rebuilding - they may not be 
>>aware of the full extent needed, but they clearly appear to be 
>>half-way there. The piano is obviously a family heirloom - no other 
>>piano is going to work in quite the same way.
>>
>>Such a small piano is potentially a prime candidate for belly 
>>design improvements (need to evaluate rim, framing, plate, etc to 
>>determine what exactly can be done with it). IMHO, assuming the 
>>thing needs a new soundboard, I would just recommend a full 
>>remanufacture with a redesigned belly (assuming plate, etc. allows 
>>proper redesign) and tell 'em you (or whomever) can make the piano 
>>sound and play better than any new small grand for $30 to $35K and 
>>see then where the family heirloom thing pushes them.
>>
>>Hey, if you are not interested, I'd jump at an opportunity like this!
>>
>>Terry Farrell
>>  ----- Original Message -----  I got this e-mail today. Should I 
>> tell them what I "think" I should?
>>
>>  I don't want to deal with it at all but if it might be worth it, I
>>  could refer it to someone else here.
>>
>>  Isn't this the brand, Conrad, that you made a planter out of? :-D Or
>>  am I thinking of something else?
>>
>>  Comments?
>>
>>  Avery Todd
>>  University of Houston
>>
>>
>>    The piano is a 1912 Kranich & Bach 5'4" baby grand that has been in
>>    the family since the 1930s. It has been primarily a furniture piece
>>    for the past 25 years and probably hasn't been tuned in nearly that
>>    time. There are a few dead keys. It has been in a climate controlled
>>    home in Houston for over 40 years.  There is no water damage or major
>>    structural compromise that we are aware of.
>>
>>    We anticipate some reconditioning will be necessary and possibly even
>>    partial rebuilding.
>>
>>    We are contemplating the addition of a PianoDisc or similar system to
>>    allow for recording and playback.