Q:Kranich & Bach Surprise!?

[Diane Hofstetter]

Dear List:

Most amazing experience today; my partner dragged me off to appraise a 
"Kronically Botched" (according to a friend of ours) 6' grand for a man who 
wants to know its value so he can sell it.  Wonders of all wonders, it was a 
beautiful art case grand made of mahogany everywhere, including solid 
mahogany legs, lyre, pedal rods, keybed (!), rim and posts!  It has 
beautiful white ivories.  To top it off, it even sounds good. The pinblock 
feels good and has torque readings of 55" to 70"lbs.

This leaves me with some important questions:

1.  The action is original except for three jacks (a1, b7 and c8).  It is 
noisy and the touch is uneven.  I have read in the PTG archives that some 
have tried replacing the whippens with modified old-style Steinway whippens 
and am wondering how that worked out?

2.  The sostenuto system looks like a great idea--there is a wooden rail 
that runs behind the damper wires, a lever moves it toward the damper wire 
flanges when the pedal is depressed and a piece of plastic? film? leather? 
that is sandwiched between two parts of the wooden rail engages damper 
spoons that are mounted on the back of the damperwire flanges.  Does anyone 
know what that material is and how difficult it would be to replace it?

3.  The soundboard has several minor cracks, but good crown, the long bridge 
has minor cracks, the bass bridge is good.  It will need restringing; the 
bass strings are tubby and the wire and pins are quite rusty.  The piano 
needs refinishing.
    Given all these considerations, can anyone suggest a reasonable price 
for the seller to ask?

    Thanks in advance for your input!
    Diane




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