Pix of Rippen Aluminum Grand

[William Morton]

On 26, Apr 2006, , at 15:57, Jean-Jacques GRANAS wrote:

> Wow William,
>
> Never seen or even heard of a piano like this.
>
> Is this a one piece rim/plate setup?
No, it has a standard iron plate and a normal cedar soundboard.  The  
"frame"
(or lack thereof) is made of a cast aluminum alloy called "Silumin".   
The wooden
trim is teak, I believe.


> Does it have a regular action?
> Ditto soundboard?
The action is Renner as are the hammers.
>
> I wonder how it is affected by the heating vent on the floor next  
> to the
> window.
>
That vent is permanently closed.  The tuning is quite stable; it is  
tuned every 6
months.

I purchased it new from a dealer in San Jose, CA about 30-35 years  
ago for, as
I remember, $2,650.  I have only seen one other like it, at a mega- 
dealer showroom
in Los Angeles about 10 years ago; they wanted $11K for that one.

I've been very happy with the instrument.  It has had 2 regulations/ 
tweaks in the
30+ years I've owned it, and I believe one broken string (bass) in  
all that time.  It's
been moved about 4 times during its lifetime.  I believe it has a  
very full tone and a
nice action.

There is a Yahoo group on Rippens (or AluRips, as they call them).   
Mostly European.

> BTW. Nice organ :-)

The Organ in question is a Conn 652, late 50's vintage.  I've also  
got a Hammond RT3 in
the basement!

If you ever get through Spokane, WA you are more than welcome to come  
by and play
any/all of them!

Regards,
Bill

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