Henry F. Miller Grand

[Les Smith]

On Wed, 19 Nov 1997, Avery Todd wrote:

> List,
> 
>    I've been asked my opinion about the advisability of rebuilding a
> Henry F. Miller 6' grand for app. $5,000.00 as compared to buying
> something like a new Kohler & Campbell 6' for about $8,000.
>    The piano was built in the 30's, has a cracked pin block and is
> located in Wisconsin right now but will be coming here if they decide
> to rebuild it.
>    I've had almost no experience with the Henry F. Miller except some
> horrible spinets, so could someone give me a general idea of their
> quality back then? I've not been very impressed with the K & C's I've
> seen so my inclination, assuming quality rebuilding work, is to rebuild.
> Opinions?

Hi, Avery.

Here's a small amount of input. I have heard some exceptionally "sweet"
sounding Millers, really quite out the ordinary and not at all what you'd
expect from the PSO's produced under that name in modern times. The prob-
lem is that the ones I'm referring to all predated the 1930's by many
years. Things change, as we all well know! It would be a shame to go
through the expense of bringing that piano all the way in from Wisconsin,
onlly to find that you could hve served it for Thanksgiving dinner! On
the other hand, it is a 6 footer, and whatever its condition, it's got to
be a step up from that Lester grand you worked on a while ago, right?:)
My inclination would be to "go for it", but don't tie yourself down to
any kind of a firm estimate until you see the piano in person. And re-
member that cracked pinblocks may indicate the presence of soundboard
and bridge problems as well. So be prepared. Good luck.

Les Smith
lessmith@buffnet.net