[pianotech] Wm. Knabe Manufacturing Date

[Patrick Draine]

American-Aeolian was still making Knabes in their E. Rochester facility in
1979. By then they were nearly indistinguishable from the Chickerings being
made in the same factory, and the quality was on a downward slope (poor
sales, and a couple bankruptcies were on the horizon).
Your serial number forgery scenario is certainly possible; disappointing
behavior surfaces all the time.
Patrick

On Tue, Mar 8, 2011 at 9:33 PM, paul bruesch <paul at bruesch.net> wrote:

> I serviced a Wm. Knabe this morning. ~66" grand, serial number 192946.
> According to Pierce, that gives it a manufacturing date of 1979. The action
> has a 1979 date stamped on it as well.
>
> I seriously question the 1979 date though, because it doesn't look like
> that new of an instrument. Cheek block screw holes are flaky, i.e. threads
> beginning to strip, and actually, some other case part holes have been
> moved, apparently due to stripped threads. Lyre, pedalbox, trapwork look (to
> my relatively inexperienced eye) much older design than 1979.
>
> The date on the action looks to me as though it's the date of a rebuild.
> All new wippens/shanks/hammers. Pinblock is pretty obviously newer than the
> rest of the piano (except action parts.) Action brackets and rails look
> original.
>
> So why the 1979 serial number? Could it possibly be that a rebuilder "made
> up" a 1979 serial number to represent it as new? Or could the factory
> (assuming it was still around) have done the rebuild and re-numbered it?
>
> My customer bought the piano in the early 1990's, and don't know the
> history prior to that point.
>
> Thoughts?
> Paul Bruesch
> Stillwater, MN
>
>
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