"Stretch Marks"

[Daleboy@aol.com]

Greetings to all!
      I have a rather perplexing situation that I would appreciate some input
on. I've a customer with a new grand piano....approximately seven feet. I
will withold the manufacturers name as not to incite a cyber riot. This
instrument has displayed some dubious characteristics since day one. I will
try to give all the info I can in order to gain the most accurate diagnosis.
      The Piano has been kept at a fairly close climate level (Temp 72
deg...Hum. 46%) until the latest Arctic blast. Today's specs...Temp. 70
deg....Hum. 26%
The pitch of the piano was 15 cents flat. The Piano has had a constant
buzzing sound, most prominant at the F4...A4 section. Upon inspection with
plate mirrors and feeler guages, no loose joints or foreign material was
found. It was found that slight pressure applied to the mid section of the
bridge......(very slight!) would cause the annoying buzz would disappear. The
only visible abnormality was some slight separation of the bridge at the
notches where the bridge pins had caused some splitting....apparantly done in
the factory. By the way, the splits were around mid-C area of the bridge, not
in the F4...A4 section.
        While tuning the piano today, I noticed a crack in the finish at the
joining area of the stretcher rail and the rim just above the cheek. The
crack runs through the top of the rim as well as around the inside. The
finish as well as the verneer seem to be splitting. Further inspection showed
cracks in the area where the keybed joins the belly. Also, some of the main
beams underneath show some separation....one, more than a sixteenth of an
inch! The original black paint and glue joints clearly show the fresh wood
exposed.
       I have not yet measured the crown of the soundboard but have noted a
deterioration in the tone.....thin and nasal in areas. My past experience
with these symptoms has usually been in very old instruments that have lost
their structural integrity for one reason or another, not in a new instrument
of this implied calibur. My gut tells me that things aren't likely to get any
better but will continue to deteriorate.
Seems to be more than just a little "settling in" or getting use to the
climate goin' on here.
Please respond!.........Thanks!
Dale Whitehead
Whitehead Piano Service
Franklin, TN.