>Hi, David > >I certainly can respect this attitude on your part. However, I do have a >little trouble with the idea that new wippens will maintain the classic >value of old Steinway pianos. I'm presently working on decreasing an overly >heavy touchweight on a Steinway A, after I replaced verdigrised wippens >with just lovely looking replacements by Tokiwa. The geometry was right, >too. The problem is that they are made of hornbeam, and are too heavy. > >I think each case has to be decided on its merits. If the originals can be >made workable, I think there is a lot to be said for leaving them. They are >a part of what the piano is, and were designed for it. Also, if necessary, >they can always be replaced later, and maybe better new parts will be >available later on. But once the originals are gone, there's no turning >back. Unfortunately, with verdigris there is often no choice but to replace. > >Regards, > >Susan Susan, Jon, David, Wim, Keith, Bob, Carol, Ted & Alice, One means of deciding whether or not to replace action parts is this - what would Steinway do if the piano were sent back to their restoration center for rebuilding? I suspect that in most cases, Steinway would NOT keep the original action parts, opting instead to replace them with new Steinway parts, especially if verdigris is present. If the manufacturer of the piano is willing to replace old parts with new ones, why are some of us so reluctant to do the same? What this all boils down to is the inevitable conflict between what is best for the piano and what your clients can afford. I agree with Susan that each case must be decided individually. Because of all the variables involved, there is simply no answer which applies to every situation all of the time. Tom Tom Seay Piano Tech Office School of Music The University of Texas at Austin t.seay@mail.utexas.edu
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