[CAUT] Yamaha sharps

[Chris Solliday]

they make a nice begininng for the action models you've always wanted to build yourself. I mean in your spare time of course.

Chris Solliday
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Michael Magness 
  To: ilvey at sbcglobal.net ; College and University Technicians 
  Sent: Saturday, December 15, 2007 10:53 AM
  Subject: Re: [CAUT] Yamaha sharps





  On Dec 14, 2007 11:56 PM, David Ilvedson <ilvey at sbcglobal.net> wrote:

    Been there...done that...like you I just couldn't bring myself to dump them...

    I believe I gave that box of keys to Mr. Love for key plugs?....

    David Ilvedson, RPT
    Pacifica, CA 94044




----------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Original message
    From: "Michael Magness"   

    To: "College and University Technicians"  

    Received: 12/14/2007 5:26:32 PM 

    Subject: Re: [CAUT] Yamaha sharps






    On Dec 14, 2007 11:00 AM, Jeannie Grassi <jcgrassi at earthlink.net> wrote:

      Alan,
      This also happened with a Kawai grand.  I ended up buffing out the whites
      just fine, but Kawai opted at the time to replace the sharps.  Same Japanese 
      key maker supplying both companies??

      Now I am taking care of a mid-80 C3 with unusually dirty keys and I think it
      might be the same thing.  Does anyone know the exact years that this problem
      existed?  Thanks 
      jeannie



      -----Original Message-----
      From: caut-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:caut-bounces at ptg.org] On Behalf Of Alan 
      Crane 
      Sent: Thursday, December 13, 2007 4:10 PM
      To: College and University Technicians
      Subject: Re: [CAUT] Yamaha sharps

      At 08:53 AM 12/13/2007, you wrote:
      >  Yesterday I had an unfortunate experience cleaning keytops. Yamaha 
      >C-2 about 20 years old. ... a very thin clear finish on the sharps -
      >blistered so as to look somewhat
      >white.

      Fred,

      This is probably way off-the-wall but...
      In the mid-80s, about 20 years ago, I was working for the local 
      Yamaha dealer (actually on staff there).
      Yamaha had just recently come out with their "Ivorite" keytops
      ________ wonderful feel to the plastic, supposedly a milk-based
      formulation (at least that was the hype at the time). 
      But it wasn't too long before they began having problems with the
      Ivorite keytops getting dirty and being impossible to clean.
      It was a real problem for them and they even had technicians going
      around the country replacing entire key sets under warranty with the 
      same problem cropping up again and again until... they discovered
      that the Ivorite wasn't getting any more dirty than normal plastic
      keytops do and it was cleaning up just fine.
      The stuff that wasn't coming off the keytops (that everyone had 
      thought was dirt) was the stain from the black keys, a new
      formulation which evidently wasn't as stable as it was supposed to be
      and was being transferred to the Ivorite by the pianists fingers
      and/or the cleaning cloth. 
      We were told that Yamaha immediately fixed the stain formulation and
      I never doubted it since the problem went away.
      However... I'm wondering if it isn't possible that, prior to finding
      the "right" stain formulation, the factory didn't start spraying on a 
      clear-coat sealer in an effort to keep the problem stain on the
      sharps where it belonged.
      Now, this is all just daydreaming on my part and I have no evidence,
      anecdotal or otherwise, to support it.
      Its almost certainly not what you're dealing with... but... OTOH, the 
      stain problem was very real while it lasted... and the time frame is
      about right...
      Just a thought.



      Regards,

      Alan B. Crane,  RPT
      School of Music
      Wichita State University
      alan.crane at wichita.edu




    Hi Jeannie,

    I have a C3 from early 1977 that just missed having those type of keys, I have replaced them on a C3 from '86, a C5 from '84 and I'm about to ship a set for a C7 from '87 so I would say from late '77 or early '78 through the late '80's probably '89, when they began replacing the key sets which is what they did when the pianos were still in warranty. I still have the old keys from the "86 C3, they were barely 3 years old and Yamaha told me to throw them away! Except for being gray not white they were in excellent shape and I couldn't bring myself to do it. I repacked them in the box they shipped the new ones in and I've had them ever since!  

    Just call Yamaha with the serial number and they will tell you. If they are in that group they'll send a shipping box and an address to ship them to. Figure on about 2 or 2 and a half weeks downtime for the piano. The person that recovers them doesn't remove any wood from the keys so there is no adjustment to be made just removal, packing, shipping and replacement. At least that's what they claim, I'm shipping after Christmas, I'll let you know.  <grin> 

    Mike
    -- 
    People who say it can't be done, should not interrupt those of us who are doing it.
    Michael Magness
    Magness Piano Service
    608-786-4404
    www.IFixPianos.com
    email mike at ifixpianos.com 

  I was holding out for that day when I needed to rebush a set and could use these as interim forgetting of course that I still would have no sharps!
  So I've decided to use them for riblets, nice spruce and in some cases I can leave the weights in for mass loading the sound board!

  Mike
  -- 
  People who say it can't be done, should not interrupt those of us who are doing it.
  Michael Magness
  Magness Piano Service
  608-786-4404
  www.IFixPianos.com
  email mike at ifixpianos.com 
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