Dealing with Bridge Damage

[Andrew and Rebeca Anderson]

Thanks, Everyone, for your thoughtful comments.
The piano is kept in a semi-coastal climate (~150 miles away) with 
relative humidity hovering in the sixties and seventies for most of 
the year.  We had a brief bout of 35% Rh this winter when it became 
apparent that a lot of bridge pins were loose enough to cause buzzing 
and beating.  That cleared up nicely but I still had the visible 
bridge damage around persistently beating strings to deal with.
There is a compression-ridge/cupped-board in the sound-board with 
crumbled lacquer at the seem.  Considering the humidity readings I 
have recorded, not too surprising.  There is a DC system under it, 
now complete and religiously plugged in at my behest .  It is only 
125 watts and obviously doesn't keep up when the RH is in the high 
seventies.  I will have to check for crown and bearing, I've simply 
presumed it would exist in a piano this new at this humidity.

It was rather ugly when I first started on it.  Broke the third 
unison I tuned at A4, strings were sticking every where.  Had to let 
everything down a lot to break loose and then pitch correct.  Now 
with regular tunings it renders nicely.  With basic piano voicing, 
string levelling etc. and regular tuning and playing it is starting 
to sound sweet.  I'm just not satisfied that it is doing as well as 
it could in the 5th and 6th octaves.  I will check into the strike 
point idea, been intending to.  I understand there's a booklet out on 
that.  Anyone know where I can find it?

I will check with Kent Webb about his thoughts regarding bridge 
repairs and about the board.

Andrew Anderson

At 10:13 AM 4/26/2006, you wrote:

>Ed said: "This piano is under warranty, is it not? "
>
>I seriously doubt that the Warranty would cover "stupidity".
>
>
>Joe Garrett, R.P.T. (Oregon)
>Captain, Tool Police
>Squares R I
>
>