[CAUT] Schwander balancier pinning

[Susan Kline]

Ed wrote:
>Which gives me time to wonder if I would, or could, find
>myself in a position to repin balanciers on a Baldwin.  The stock pinning of
>those instruments has always seemed to me to be totally all over the map, or
>else all pinnings were as loose as a 1971 Big Sur hitchhiker.

Since the first 9 foot grand I was given the care and feeding of
was a 1970 Baldwin SD-10, I of course did all I could for it - and
it responded really well, and became very well liked. Although it's
been almost ten years since I freshened it up and dealt with its
various problems, it has stood up to heavy use since with minimal
attention.

The very fact that the stock pinning tends to be all over the map
gives you a lot of room for improving the instrument. Same with
voicing, working to get the ridges off the bearings, etc. Try it -
you may like what you end up with. Mine has a big interesting
sound with tons of body, very even between registers and
projecting right to the back of the hall. It stands up to
heavy playing beautifully once the tuning is really beaten in.
The rendering does take some attention, but once the tuning
is solid it holds very well. The bass is fantastic, bronze
and big without nastiness, and you could jump all over it
and make the rafters rattle without getting the tone to break.

Constantine Orbelian brought the Moscow Chamber Orchestra to
Newport, and rehearsed and performed the Schnittke Concerto on
this piano, and it didn't even need a touch-up between the
rehearsal and the concert. It just hung in there all day.

Susan Kline
OSU, Newport Arts Center