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<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<DIV
style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: =
black"><B>From:</B>
<A title=rchme@interlap.com.ar =
href="mailto:rchme@interlap.com.ar">Ricardo
Amil</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A =
title=pianotech@ptg.org
href="mailto:pianotech@ptg.org">pianotech@ptg.org</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Thursday, June 05, 2003 =
9:19
PM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Ritmüller =
Göttingen
upright</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV>Hi!<BR> Have you ever serviced an original german =
Ritmüller
upright?<BR> I´m going to buy a used upright, I don´t have =
much money,
here in South<BR> América the pianos are veeeeeeeeery =
expensive. The
majority of sudents<BR>buy<BR> a<BR> really old upright =
.<BR> I
would like to know any opinion you have about the german =
maker.<BR> The
height is 1,30 m., it´s overstrung and underdampered, SN =
18338.<BR> 85
keys, of course. The logo of this piano is just like the chinese
new<BR>one,<BR> the only difference is it says Göttingen
beneath.<BR> It was made in Göttingen, Berlin. In the plate =
there is a
logo with a<BR>lion<BR> and 3 windmills on top. The =
action
was manufactured by J. Keller & Co.<BR>in<BR> =
Stuttgart,
SN 108539.<BR> You can´t see the pinblock, it´s =
behind the
iron. (Sorry I´m not a<BR> technician, niether I =
speak
english...)<BR> The tuning pins are nickeled or =
something,
not black, sylver color. They<BR> are not original I
supose.<BR> I´ve seen in the internet 2 o 3 =
pictures of old
Ritmüller pianos, but<BR> they<BR> have a =
different
logo above the keyboard than this piano, and they =
say<BR>
DOPPEL RESONANZ SYSTEM, PT Nş ............ It does not have
that<BR> inscription.<BR> Is there =
such
thing like a double soundboard or something?<BR><BR> =
Sorry
about my english, that´s the best I can do..... can you
imagine?<BR> ;)))<BR></DIV>
<DIV> Your English is no worse =
than that
of most (North) Americans, and you do much better with it than most of =
us do
with Spanish (or Portuguese).</DIV>
<DIV> According to the Pierce Piano Atlas, that =
piano was
built around 1907 or 1908. </DIV>
<DIV> Yes, if the tuning pins are shiny silver =
color, not
black, then they are probably not original. </DIV>
<DIV> Many piano companies change their logo over =
the
years. "Double Resonance System" could mean almost anything -- I =
doubt
that it has two soundboards, but anything is possible. Maybe it =
has a
separate soundboard for the bass, or maybe "double resonance" has =
something to
do with the bridges or ribs or agraffes (if any) or the bearing =
points of
the strings (?). </DIV>
<DIV> According to "Pianos and Their Makers", by =
Alfred
Dolge, Ritmueller was founded in 1795 and made a well-built =
piano. But
with any piano that old, it's not the name on the front that matters, =
but
rather what condition it's in. </DIV>
<DIV> The main consideration is whether or not it =
will hold
a tuning, whether the tone is satisfactory for you, and =
whether the
action and hammers are serviceable. If you cannot afford a =
piano
technician to look at it for you, maybe you can find someone who knows =
what to
look for.</DIV>
<DIV> Sincerely, David Nereson, RPT, Denver, =
Colorado,
USA </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
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