(Are many piano techs night owls too? <g>) At 03:10 AM 04/10/96 -0400, Jeff wrote: > What I want to know is this; What about you guys in Alaska, Canada, and >Hawai??? Ever have a piano arrive on your shores... and give up the ghost? I Yes, although not very often. It seems to happen more with the "average" older pianos than with decent ones though. Last year I looked at a generic Canadian stencil piano that had come here from Victoria the year before and was perhaps an extreme case. Bridge caps were split and falling apart, the bass bridge and apron were in pieces, the soundboard had ragged splits in it, pins were all loose because the block had visibly split and was tearing away, action glue joints and screws were loose etc.. I was told it had been a "good" piano out on the coast, but I had no way of telling. I suspected that it had been moved from the prairies to Vancouver Island, had never been serviced there either and then when it was brought back here it just couldn't take all the strain. A few people locally have bought "antique" pianos from auction houses that bring in container-loads of English and Scottish antiques. I've seen some of these literally fall apart after being here a few months just as does most of the other furniture in the container. I don't really classify these things as musical instruments though, and do not work on them. The vast majority of pianos I see here that have come from other areas survive just fine though. The important thing is to make sure it's properly serviced and maintained once it arrives. >busted water line.... I've seen those. I want to know what happens to a piano >dumped in the Arctic on a cold Tuesday?! Or heaved into a sauna on Maui?! Well, this is hardly the arctic (Calgary is on the 51st parallel and I think you have to get at least north of 60 for that), but one of the biggest problems we have are with pianos that are moved in the dead of winter (when it's -40 outside). They have to be warmed slowly for at least 24 hours before uncrating or in the case of pianos moved into a home or whatever, removing the blankets. The moving pads and blankets should be covering the ENTIRE piano including the soundboard. I've seen far too many new pianos (particularly those with lacquer finishes made in a large east-coast city) with hairline cracks all over the case parts and the soundboard because they were uncovered too soon after being moved in the cold. When warm moist air hits cold lacquer, varnish or even polyester there is the potential for problems. But we don't have moths, mildew, termites or rust problems here. Anytime you see any of these here you know the piano has come from "away" (as they say in Newfoundland). John John Musselwhite, RPT Calgary, Alberta Canada musselj@cadvision.com
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