Voicing Baldwin L

[Ron Nossaman]

>
>>> It would be nice to get some feedback before I start
>> >>investing the hundreds of dollars it will likely take to have it properly
>> >>voiced.
>
>Try to voice it before spending thousands to replace the soundboard. All
>pianos need maintanence other than just tuning.  Check to see that the
>tenor bridge is not touching the plate brace at the low end.  That would
>deaden the tone.
>Hire a tech and don't be afraid to invest afew hundred in voicing or
>even a thousand or two on a new set of hammers and action work, it's
>probably worth it.
>
>-Mike Jorgensen RPT
>

Absolutely, try the voicing. One should start with the cheapest, easiest fix
first. If that takes care of it for you, go in peace and live happily ever
after. My point is not to assume it's 'just' voicing without checking out
the soundboard first. This is a nearly universal and potentially expensive
assumption. If it's the board, voicing can seem to improve the sound and
give you the illusion that you're getting somewhere, but will be short term
improvement,and a long term money pit as different techs try to permanently
voice away a structural problem. If the board's OK, the problems are much
simpler to correct, but try to know what you are working with before you do
ANYTHING. Too many times, I have met the piano AFTER the money was spent
filing, voicing, or replacing the hammers, and discovered the concave
soundboard crown in exactly the area of the 'voicing' problem. The first (3)
tech(s) could have saved the customer a lot of money and grief if they had
checked the board out first, but they probably didn't know either. That's
why you need a rebuilder. Like I said, start with the cheap stuff first.
Have the soundboard looked at, voice if the board looks OK, voice with hope
but reasonable expectation of limited success if the board is in doubt, and
don't waste your money on voicing if the board is shot. Also, don't
automatically rule out the possibility of a dead soundboard based on just
the age of any piano. Pianos routinely leave factories with varying degrees
of built in self destruct conditions inherent in the design and/or assembly
methods used in construction. Some of them 'time out' before the final case
rubdown, while some last many many years without major problems. That's more
like what I mean.

 
 Ron