<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN"> <HTML><HEAD><TITLE></TITLE> <META http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1"> <META content="MSHTML 6.00.2800.1106" name=GENERATOR></HEAD> <BODY> <DIV>Tim:</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Thanks for your note.  The first problem here is the realization that while $200,000 has been spent on these 3 pianos, there is considerably less than $200,000 in value here.  Now we're talking about several thousand more to wapinize them.  That might be a good, or even the ultimate solution.  I suppose if I had 100% confidence that it would fix it, I'd probably push for it.  It is cheaper than a new board.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Unfortunately, the only Wapin piano I've seen is the job we did on your brother's piano.  While it did make it better, that piano was not "bad" before.  It was actually a very nice piano before.  These pianos are "bad".  This makes me want to try a very cheap fix.  If it works, great!  If it doesn't we'll go to plan B.  What I'd really love to do is send them all somewhere where a new, rib-crowned, rescaled sounding board could be installed.  However, that doesn't look financially feasible at the moment.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>dave<BR><FONT face=Arial size=2>*********** REPLY SEPARATOR ***********<BR><BR>On 12/4/2002 at 8:12 AM Tim Coates wrote:</FONT></DIV> <BLOCKQUOTE style="PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid">Hi Dave,<BR><BR>I'm dead serious when I say this:  you need to install Wapin.  It has never failed to fix this problem.  There is a pianist who drives from Dallas to Cedar Rapids, IA to record because there is no Wapin SSD in Dallas.  It's real.  It works.  It's cost effective.<BR><BR>You don't have be worried about removing it because it didn't work.  <BR><BR>Tim Coates<BR>Wapin Company LLP<BR><BR>David M. Porritt wrote:<BR> <BLOCKQUOTE cite=mid200212041852540790.01BEB110@outgoing.verizon.net type="cite"> <META content="MSHTML 6.00.2800.1106" name=GENERATOR> <DIV>I've been inspired!  I have a client, a university in East Texas that has a 5 year old "D" that is dead.  Sustain is gone.  I have a "B" and a "D" here that are 9 years old.  The "B" is not dead yet, but the vultures are circling.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>I read in the archives again last night the post from Del of April 2001 on putting the sounding board springs in.  I've ordered the springs from McMaster and I've remembered I have some nice "L" shaped maple that can serve as the mounts for the system.  This maple had a former life as damper lifter trays.  </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>I hope to be able to bring a little life to our two pianos here, then try it on the East Texas piano.  When you think about $200,000 worth of less than 10 year old pianos in this shape, you really want to do something, anything!  I like the fact that I can just remove the additional apparatus if this doesn't make an improvement.  If I do it over winter break and it doesn't work, no one will ever know.  If it does work, I'll make sure everybody knows!!</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>I'll let you know how it goes.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>dave</DIV><PRE>_____________________________ David M. Porritt <A class=moz-txt-link-abbreviated href="mailto:dporritt@mail.smu.edu">dporritt@mail.smu.edu</A> Meadows School of the Arts Southern Methodist University Dallas, TX 75275 _____________________________</PRE></BLOCKQUOTE><BR><FONT size=2 Arial></BLOCKQUOTE></FONT></BODY></HTML> <PRE> _____________________________ David M. Porritt dporritt@mail.smu.edu Meadows School of the Arts Southern Methodist University Dallas, TX 75275 _____________________________</PRE>