I just wanted to second everyone's comments about dealing with the over-damped Broadwood. I have in the past replaced overdamper felt with the correct end-grain felt (from Heckschers). There was some improvement, but it wasn't huge, and the piano wasn't great anyway. I would always nowadays tend just to see if the existing felt isn't fluff-uppable (fluffable-up??) and just replace the odd one or two that might had had something spilled on them. With regard to the comment about moving the action in so that the dampers "push harder" against the strings, it's not so much a case of them pushing harder, as just sitting properly. Sometimes it is possible to effect a substantial improvement by quickly and *gently* pulling up/forwards slightly the whole set of damper wires (the L shaped bits connecting the heads to the levers, shown bent inwards in John's photo) a handful at a time. You should also of course check the tightness of the damper lever centres: sometimes overdampers don't work well because the centres have tightened and the dampers dont fall back down onto the strings - overdampers work mostly by gravity (and also arguably a bit by being pulled by the holes in the wippens) and it's not as strong as an underdamper lever spring. Phil you mention using an oblong tuning head - has the piano got oblong pins? How annoying! Not seen that on a broadwood. Don't be frightened about removing the whole damper arrangement, just proceed with caution bearing John's comments in mind and I think you'll find it easy. I would also strongly second the idea of tuning with a Papps wedge rather than a muting strip. 600 Cents is quite a way to go on an old upright - you'll certainly need to assess the pin tightness and condition of the pinblock. And the general overall condition of the instrument. It it of huge sentimental value? If the lady really wants a piano, should she be buying a new or newer one?
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