Erard evaluation

[Bob Hull]

Stephen and all,
 
here's more info on the Erard:
The serial no. is 3947. According to Pierce Atlas that
would put it between 1810 and 1815. The fall board
says Patent Erard London.  The length is 7' 9 3/4". 
85 keys. Straight strung, with black iron frame
attached to the pinblock.  There are two wooden pedals
with brass overlays.  The cheekblocks and keyslip have
wing nut type of screws that I believe screw into
threaded sleeves but do not come completely out when
unscrewed.  The piano has been restrung, the tuning
pins are 3's and the pin block is split along the line
of pins that are close to the stretcher.  These pins
are leaning way forward due to the split.  Of course
it will not hold tune for any length of time.  Single
string tie offs through out and agraffes all the way
up.  I don't know if the original type of strings
would "look" different than modern strings, but these
don't look any different.  I didn't do any string
diameter measuring,- I should have.  The pitch was
only 5 cents below 440. I removed the fallboard but
didn't pull the action becomes it didn't come out with
a little tugging and I didn't know what I might be
getting into (with the underdampers and everything). 
The hammers look good and they look like the hammers
on the Erard on your website.  I could see the "action
brackets" were wooden.  You used the term echelle
which is a new term to me.  
   The sound is mild, sustain shorter than modern
pianos and voicing is uneven.   The customer wanted
the piano to sound more powerful and full-bodied,
which I believe is not going to happen with this
instrument even if correctly restored.  
The case has been refinished and now however has many
damaged areas.  Most significantly is a crack in the
lid running from the tale to the fold back hinge. I
think only the veneer is keeping it from being in two
pieces, so the lid can't be safely raised for tuning. 
The bridge is vertically laminated with a cap.

I have several photos that may be available later.
What does all of this tell you?

Thanks,

Bob E. Hull
--- Stephen Birkett <sbirkett@real.uwaterloo.ca>
wrote:
> Bob wrote:
> >Tomorrow I am going to look at an Erard grand that
> I
> >moved for someone about 2 years ago.  The customer
> >wants an estimate on rebuilding it.
> 
> Depends on whether they want to restore or rebuild.
> For restoration 
> to original condition the cost is very high, very
> difficult to 
> estimate accurately, and always comes out a lot more
> than 
> anticipated. The decision whether to restore depends
> quite a bit on 
> nailing the true date...
> 
> >Although I rebuild, I would not tackle this one
> myself so I need
> >to find someone who is experienced in working on
> >pianos such as this one that may date back to about
> 1830.
> 
> If it really is 1830 it is worth restoring for sure,
> particularly if 
> it has the original action echelle. These tended to
> be retrofitted by 
> the factory after the new action was brought out
> around 1840, so an 
> original early action echelle is quite rare. Even so
> an 1830s Erard 
> is a wonderful piano and would be ruined with a
> rebuild, turned into 
> a bastardized piece of junk with modern bits spliced
> in.
> 
> It shouldn't be difficult to work out the date.
> Apart from technical 
> characteristics (keyboard compass, length of c
> string(s), bracing vs 
> plate, straight vs overstrung etc.) there is the
> serial number....to 
> interpret that properly you need to determine if it
> is a London of 
> Paris Erard (look at the nameboard).
> 
> For comparison, check out the Erard page on my
> website:
> http://real.uwaterloo.ca/~sbirkett/erard_info.htm
> There are various vintage Erards shown, including my
> 1836. Also, some 
> mp3 samples of restored Erards, both an 1822 and
> 1842 Erard. The 
> Louchet link contains quite a bit of Erard
> information too.
> 
> Report back please.
> 
> Stephen
> -- 
> Dr Stephen Birkett
> Associate Professor
> Department of Systems Design Engineering
> University of Waterloo
> Waterloo, Ontario
> Canada N2L 3G1
> 
> E3 Room 3158
> tel: 519-888-4567 Ext. 3792
> fax: 519-746-4791
> PianoTech Lab Room E3-3160 Ext. 7115
> mailto: sbirkett[at]real.uwaterloo.ca
> http://real.uwaterloo.ca/~sbirkett
> _______________________________________________
> pianotech list info:
> https://www.moypiano.com/resources/#archives
> 





		
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