v-bar/capo repair (filing compared)

[Barbara Richmond]

Hi Ric,

My piano, an A (6' 1'2" or whatever), was made in 1914.  I bought it in
1984, it came out of an estate of a piano teacher in Peoria, IL and her
family had been the original purchasers. Everything was original.  The
soundboard sort of looks like a picket fence, but I think it sounds good.

Ed was scheduled to teach at the Central Illinois Seminar in October of
1988.  I offered my piano for his class since it needed to be rebuilt
anyway.  I had the pinblock, restringing, & dampers done by Steve Schmidt of
the Piano People in Champaign, Illinois.  The action stack got shipped to
Ed, but as I said, it got lost on the way back to Illinois.  Ed arrived
three or four days before the seminar was to begin, shaped the capo to his
specification and waited for the stack to show up.  A week after the seminar
ended, it did show up and there I was with an unfinished piano.  It wouldn't
be a problem now, but I was not an action rebuilder at the time (I sent that
kind of work out to the shop in Champaign).   The piano sat unfinished for a
few years(!) thinking I would get to it, but finally I shipped it back to
Champaign and had Steve finish it (I had more money than time).  Steve
finished it the way he (Steve) would normally have done it--which was fine
with me since I like his work (of course, I always change the voicing a
bit).

My piano's front duplex isn't noisy, but I tune a number of Steinways that
aren't noisy.  Of course, I tune some that are.  I'll be sure to try shaping
the capo when I have the chance, but, I'll also bring the rest of the bag of
tricks with me.  ;-)

Ric, is this shape supposed to offer more than an un-noisy duplex?   I think
I must have known at one time, but I can't remember now.

Barbara Richmond, RPT





----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Ric Brekne" <ricbrek at broadpark.no>
To: <pianotech at ptg.org>
Sent: Monday, March 06, 2006 1:10 PM
Subject: v-bar/capo repair (filing compared)


> Hi Barbara
>
> Now THAT is a nicely profiled capo bar IMHO. Nice shot too !  And the
> difference between the Seiler and the Steinway Ed did is both obvious
> and profundomundo.  Notice too that the Steinway, tho mildly grooved is
> nowhere near as marked up as the Seiler.  How long ago did he do the job
> Barbara ?  And do you notice any of the same kind of problems that your
> Seiler displays ?
>
> Tell us more.
>
> Cheers
> RicB
>