Baldwin SD

[david at davidandersenpianos.com]

> List (& especially any of you major rebuilders out there),
>
> Do any of you have any direct experience with an SD-6 #118127 (1952 I
> was told)?

> My question is, there is a tone problem in the middle agraffe
> section. (It's so hard to describe
> sounds in an e-mail.) The dealer kept saying he thought it was
> primarily a hammer fitting/string
> leveling problem. Yes, there is some of that that needs to be done.
> But I believe it's a problem
> in the agraffes themselves. This isn't a hammer fitting type of
> sound. It's a distorted/zinging
> kind of sound. Like a termination problem or something not seated
> well.

> Am I on the right track about the agraffes? Thanks.

> Avery Todd

Yup, I think you are; I've had the same thing happen on a couple different
pianos with original agraffes---kind of a metallic "emphasis" on a certain
overtone in the note played and exacerbated by volume.

Here's what fixed it, TEMPORARILY, for me:  let the string down one
quarter turn; the kink or bend in the string as it enters the agraffe
needs to be "massaged" to a point where it's "straighter."
Do that, return the string to tension, listen and repeat until the sound
diminishes.  The real fix?  Obvious.  Restring the entire piano with new,
Revenko-Jones-Protocol-prepared agraffes.
This would seem to be a great leverage point in the purchase price.  The
strings are 50 years old; they're done, especially for a school
application.  Sounds like a no-brainer to me.
Have fun.

David Andersen