>Here's the situation: > >Belly bracing joints are coming apart and need to be reglued and doweled. >Some separation of the soundboard panel from the ribs. >A few cracks in the board. >Pin block (beech) has been shimmed and partially plugged. Small crack in >bass section. Needs plugging or replacing, I think, as oversized pins >don't tend to do to well in beech blocks. >Delamination of the bass bridge cap along about half its length. Some >delamination in the upper treble bridgecap as well. >Minimal but positive bearing, little or no crown in the panel. >Don't know how it sounded as I never heard it before. >Customer wants it functional for least cost. >She has had Christopher Ris, Frank Bettinger, John Callahan, me and you >for opinions. > >I think it needs a new board, new and reinforced belly bracing, new >pinblock. One could probably get by with less with no guarantees and lots >of disclaimers (remember those plates can be pretty fragile). The senior >Ostrovsky doesn't think it needs a new board but he may be from a >tradition that doesn't replace soundboards ever. > >What do you think? > > > >David Love I don't know who this was supposed to go to, but I think that if wishes were fishes, we'd be swimming in sushi instead of BS. "Functional for least cost" requires someone to make the determination of (and take the responsibility for) what constitutes function, and what is the least cost to obtain said function. If cost trumps function, the piano is already a very good deal because all work not done on it is free. You can't beat that, so go with it. I'd suggest they bask in the glow of zero cash outlay function with what they have until they decide if it's worth what it takes to meet their, and your, definition of function. Remember Phyllis Diller at the beauty shop saying "just make me beautiful"? Ron N
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