Vballx@AOL.COM wrote: > To Delwin, James Grebe or list > Can anyone tell me about the quality of the J. Bauer Grand Pianos? > I'm trying to find information on this 6'1"Grand. I know about the unique > construction of the soundboard, the full peramater plate. > So can anyone tell me more about the german action and if there were any > known problems with the soundboard other than people trying to shore it up > once it started to go flat. Plus woud anyone know the playing level of this > piano. > > Kevin Drake > Vancouver > student of music and theory. Thank you --------------------------------------------- Kevin, I once owned a 9' Bauer grand. My direct knowledge of the type is limited to that particular instrument and to my study of the Bauer patents. The highlights of the design -- as I remember them -- follow: 1) The soundboard. The soundboard itself was a fairly conventional spruce panel. The ribbing was not conventional. The ribs were in two parts with one part on the bottom of the panel and the other part paralleling it on the top. >From my examination of the structure it seemed likely that the ribs were pressed on using a crowned caul with a fairly tight radius. Unless there has been glue joint separation between the ribs and the panel there should be essentially no loss of crown over time. This is an extremely stable construction. 2) The bridges. The bridges are probably made up of two parts. One part is glued to the soundboard panel. It is notched where the top ribs pass under it. It has holes drilled in it every few inches with dowels inserted. These dowels support the top portion of the bridge. You might want to be certain that the upper portion of the bridge is intact. In my piano there were two scarf joints -- one at the tenor/lower treble break and one at the lower treble/upper treble break that were coming loose. It was a fairly simple matter to glue and dowel them back together without removing anything structural. 3) Soundboard support. In my piano there was no "inner/outer rim" as such. There was an inner rim structure that, together with the belly rail, supported the soundboard. This entire assembly was built such that it could be removed from the bottom of the piano without disturbing the plate. A good thing, too. More about this anon. There was a maple molding strip that was the shape as the inner rim glued to the top of the soundboard. This "inner rim" was fastened to the plate by a series of large screws that came down from the top of the plate, through the molding, through the soundboard and into the inner rim. There was a gap between the side of the inner rim and the plate. 4) The plate. The plate was more than just a "full-parameter" plate. In a sense, the plate was the piano. It extended down between the inner rim and the outer rim. The outer rim was attached by bolts extending through the plate outward to the rim. Before the inner rim and soundboard assembly were installed a series of square shouldered, flat topped machine bolts were installed in threaded holes in this same plate flange. When the inner rim/soundboard assembly were in place these bolts were backed out until they contacted the inner rim. Now, by adjusting these bolts the overall crown of the soundboard could be adjusted. At least in theory. My piano had a conventional action. I've no idea what type of action may have been installed in the piano in question. In my piano there was no evidence that the soundboard had "gone flat." In fact, I'm not sure it could. In spite of the fact that the string scale tensions were extremely high. Unless, as I said earlier, some of the glue joints had failed. Other than to attempt to adjust the bolts that Bauer built in for the purpose, I can't imagine what could be done to "shore up" the soundboard. And I do question the viability of those bolts, by the way. I wouldn't begin to speculate about the current value of the piano. Although the soundboard assembly should be quite long-lived, all things do come to an end eventually. Sooner or later the piano will have to be rebuilt. The pinblock should be no problem. I was able to replace the block in mine without removing the plate. The soundboard and/or bridges will be another matter. Knowing what I know now I wouldn't touch rebuilding one of these pianos for less that $20,000 without the board, and $30,000 with it. That's "less than," not "more than." More has been said on this list about the Bauer grand and vertical pianos. I'd suggest that you search the archives. (Don't ask me how -- I just know it can be done!) Regards Del
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