What have you got to lose by taking it up to A440 now? I have raised quite a few older pianos, with no adverse effect. Granted, in some, strings broke, but that did not end up anywhere near the cost of a restring. John M. Ross Windsor, Nova Scotia, Canada jrpiano at win.eastlink.ca ----- Original Message ----- From: "Israel Stein" <custos3 at comcast.net> To: <pianotech at ptg.org> Sent: Tuesday, January 01, 2008 3:14 PM Subject: Re: Weber upright from 1884. > Martin, > > If there are no structural issues with this piano, I would not hesitate to > raise it to A=440 after restringing. Weber was a high-quality piano > manufacturer at this time (for a short while they even competed with > Steinway and the others for the concert stage) and there is ample evidence > that in the late 19th century in the US pitches quite a bit higher than > 440 - as high as 447 - were in use (as were lower pitches ca. 435), so > pianos had to have been built to withstand those tensions. > > Happy new year, > > Israel Stein > > > > At 10:17 AM 1/1/2008, you wrote: >>List: >> >>I raised the pitch this afternoon on this 1884 New York Weber upright to >>A-435 and still 3 strings broke.(It still has its original strings). I >>spliced them back on. The lady bought it at an auction for her 8 year old >>son to practice on. I advised her and her husband to not let their son >>practice on this piano. It could ruin his sense of pitch. The piano has >>only a partial plate coming up only to the bottom of the pin block. >>Question: if it were restrung what is the feasibility that it could be >>tuned to A-440? The pin block has some large bolts going in at the top >>but they don't go all the way through to the back side. The overall >>design resembles a German birdcage but it is not that. It is overstrung >>with underdampers like modern pianos. But the action comes out like a >>birdcage piano. Any thoughts and opinions appreciated. >> >>Martin Wisenbaker, RPT >>Houston, Texas > > >
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