<html><head><style type="text/css"></style></head><body><div style="font-family:arial, helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:12pt"><DIV style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: arial, helvetica, sans-serif">Ed, et al, </DIV> <DIV style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: arial, helvetica, sans-serif"> </DIV> <DIV style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: arial, helvetica, sans-serif">Thanks for the suggestions!</DIV> <DIV style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: arial, helvetica, sans-serif"> </DIV> <DIV style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: arial, helvetica, sans-serif">Dave Davis, RPT<BR></DIV> <DIV style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: times new roman, new york, times, serif">----- Original Message ----<BR>From: "A440A@aol.com" <A440A@aol.com><BR>To: caut@ptg.org<BR>Sent: Monday, July 2, 2007 4:44:54 PM<BR>Subject: Re: [CAUT] Selecting a new B<BR><BR> <DIV>Dave writes:<BR><BR><< A small local community college is buying a new B and has asked me to tag <BR>along during the selection process. In addition to the "normal" inspection <BR>items I use to assist a buyer, are there other things that you find are helpful <BR>to College and University faculty?  >><BR><BR>1.  Check the downbearing<BR>2.  check to see how many front rail pins are nicked on the bearing <BR>surface,(makes for short-lived bushings)<BR>3.  examine how high the shanks are off the cushions (over 5mm indicates some <BR>serious action problems<BR>4.  tune the bottom 6 strings to check pin torque<BR>5.  Check the hammer pinning with a slat under the shanks,  you may find a <BR>number of them that wiggle         sideways<BR>6.  Listen to how much hardener is in the hammers in the 5th octave.  <BR>Excessive lacquer indicates a poorly    performing soundboard and will become harsh <BR>and unvoiceable in short order. <BR>7.  look closely at how well the una corda performs<BR>8.  poorly traveled hammers result in uneven centerpin wear,(and new <BR>Steinways usually have massive               amounts of traveling to be done<BR>9.  listen to the damper wires as you move the pedal, recent Steinways have <BR>had rough plating <BR>10.  Check to see how much lateral pressure is bearing on the sides of the <BR>damper guide bushings<BR>11.  examine the jacks location in the mortise, there may be several that are <BR>already rubbing the sides<BR>12. check to see that all the trapwork bushings, (plastic, these days) are <BR>firm.  It isn't uncommon for the installer to have deformed them while forcing <BR>the shift lever to meet the pedal rod<BR><BR>     There is a long list of things that the factory expects the dealer's <BR>tech to deal with.  Take nothing for granted.  Listen carefully for buzzes and <BR>zings, and don't let them tell you that any "problems" you find will be fixed <BR>after the purchase!  <BR>Good luck,   <BR><BR><BR><BR>Ed Foote RPT <BR><A href="http://www.uk-piano.org/edfoote/index.html" target=_blank>http://www.uk-piano.org/edfoote/index.html</A><BR>www.uk-piano.org/edfoote/well_tempered_piano.html<BR><BR><BR><BR>**************************************<BR> See what's free at <BR><A href="http://www.aol.com.%3c/HTML" target=_blank>http://www.aol.com.</HTML</A>></DIV></DIV> <DIV style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: arial, helvetica, sans-serif"><BR></DIV></div></body></html>