Low FAC, Henry F.

[Delwin D Fandrich]

Ken Jankura wrote:

>      I recently tuned a 9-foot Henry F. Miller in a local church. No one
> I've spoken to has ever seen one. How 'bout you New England techs? Are
> these beasts any more common up there? The piano had no front or rear
> duplex, so despite a rather poor treble strike point from another tech's
> rebuild, it has even less than one would expect up there.

Don't blame the lack of treble on the lack of a front of back "tuned" duplex.
There are many reasons for the lack of tone -- either power or quality -- in the
treble section of a piano, but this is not one of them.  I suspect that the age
of the soundboard is a factor.  As is -- probably -- the actual design of the
soundboard/rib/bridge assembly and the stringing scale.

Not being intimately familiar with the Henry F Miller design I can only
speculate.  Keep in mind that, while it is difficult to design and build a bad
nine-foot piano, it's not impossible.

-- ddf