Bob reported: >here's more info on the Erard: >The serial no. is 3947. According to Pierce Atlas that >would put it between 1810 and 1815. Something odd with that methinks. From your description it sounds much later. Are you sure that Pierce is referencing London Erards here? >85 keys. Straight strung, with black iron frame >attached to the pinblock. How many longitudinal bars? And are there cross braces? > I didn't do any string >diameter measuring,- I should have. String lengths would have told a lot, even if you only have one C string it can give a quick and dirty date. > You used the term echelle >which is a new term to me. That's the early version of the Erard action, the one he invented and first produced in 1823. The echelle is on account of the resemblance to a ladder - there's a not-very-clear photo on my website at http://real.uwaterloo.ca/~sbirkett/piano%20action.htm. These were retrofitted (by the factory) in the 1840s using the the new version of the action, so not many of the echelle type are extant. > 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. Not necessarily. But the cost to achieve it would be high. You need to pinpoint the date more accurately before being abale to assess its potential in this respect. >I have several photos that may be available later. Photos would be useful. Please post. >What does all of this tell you? As above. 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
This PTG archive page provided courtesy of Moy Piano Service, LLC