appraisal question another thonk?

[David Love]

While their may very well be ways to temporarily fix the problem (as a few
people have suggested) it indicates an underlying problem that should
influence the appraisal--which is really the issue.  Whether it's a loose
bridge cap, loose bridge pins, negative bearing or some such problem, the
appraisal should reflect the proper fix, not the band-aid one.  

I recently had a similar vintage Steinway with a similar sound in the same
area.  Someone prior to me had inserted some thin shims under the strings
through the first capo section which improved the situation somewhat.  I was
contracted by the University that owned the piano to address the problem in
a more permanent way and found, when I destrung the piano, that the bridge
pins were quite loose and some very vigorous smashing down of the strings on
the bridge to try and seat the strings had made matters worse.  I recapped
the capo section and resurfaced, renotched and repined the rest of the
bridge, securing the pins with epoxy.  That coupled with a careful filing of
the capo bar and a change of the agraffes cleaned things up enormously.  By
recapping the bridge in the capo section I was also able to alter the
speaking lengths a bit to create a better log progression at slightly higher
tensions which improved the power in that section.

While your problem may not be exactly the same, it is likely that the only
proper fix will involve at least a restringing and some attention to the
bridge in the offending section.  Your appraisal should reflect that, not
what you might be able to get away with.      

David Love
davidlovepianos at comcast.net 
www.davidlovepianos.com

-----Original Message-----
From: pianotech-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces at ptg.org] On Behalf
Of Bob Hull
Sent: Saturday, August 26, 2006 9:37 AM
To: pianotech at ptg.org
Subject: appraisal question another thonk?

Hi List,

A church that is selling 5 pianos has asked me to give
them an appraisal for each one to determine selling
prices.  

I've done quite a few appraisals over the years but
one of these pianos, a  1978 Steinway B, has a strange
sound that has me puzzled in terms of how the value of
the instrument is affected. If you can help me, not
necessarily with a $$ amount but with diagnosis, I'd
appreciate it greatly.

This B has a strange sound in the first 5 or 6 notes
of the treble strings and bridge.  The tone is weak,
reminds me of a really cheap sounding old baby grand,
tone is unfocused, makes you think about poor
termination somewhere;  I would perhaps describe it
like  a recent post that mentioned a tenor "thonk". 

The  bridge glue joint in that area looks ok, bridge
looks ok, there is some downbearing.  I swapped some
hammers and it sounded a little better but the same
basic sound characteristic remained.  I tried to
overcome the weakness and noisy thud with voicing and
hammer hardening, and I got louder but basic sound
problem still persists.  Underneath "looks" alright
ribs and board no glue joints separated.

This B is a teflon era piano with hammers worn to the
point of  needing replacement. The action "works" but
has a high DW - 60 plus and UW corresponds. A few
keytops have those dirty hairline cracks.

The soundboard has a couple of cracks that are closed
up now but this winter will most likely be more
obvious.  Cracks are not under that area of the
bridge.  The overall sound of the piano is not bad,
just underpowered, somewhat unfocused - the worn
hammers could contribute to that. 

 Should I just say it's got to have a new board and
action, and be done with it?  For many people, they
would be fairly satisfied with this instrument
(although it's not up to its real potential) if those
few notes weren't bad, however. 


Not knowing what the cause of this strange sound is or
how to set the price range for them.  It's in a 
building that is distant and someone has to meet me
there each time I look at it, so I don't have easy
access.  

Bob Hull


__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Tired of spam?  Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around 
http://mail.yahoo.com