<HTML><HEAD> <META charset=US-ASCII http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=US-ASCII"> <META content="MSHTML 6.00.2800.1106" name=GENERATOR></HEAD> <BODY style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; BACKGROUND-COLOR: #ffffff"> <DIV>In a message dated 7/13/2007 4:40:23 PM Pacific Daylight Time, mfarrel2@tampabay.rr.com writes:</DIV> <BLOCKQUOTE style="PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: blue 2px solid"><FONT face=Arial size=2>I inspected a 1902 Chickering grand the other day - about 6'6" or so. It recently had a "complete belly job" and new action parts at Amadeus Piano in NJ.  <A title=http://amadeuspianos.com/projecta.htm href="http://amadeuspianos.com/projecta.htm">http://amadeuspianos.com/projecta.htm</A> </FONT></BLOCKQUOTE><FONT face="Bookman Old Style"> <DIV><FONT face="Bookman Old Style">Terry, how was the action? Those wippens from that age can be bears - nothing modern fits. I had to make a couple of jacks and repetition levers to replace the mouse-chewed ones on a Chickering which I think was from about 1890. Quite a pain, so don't tell me if there was something I could have bought. </FONT></DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>I was slightly puzzled/mildly amused at Amadeus's choice of a left-handed piano to represent their business (top left picture of the site; the lid appears to open on the bass side. I suppose it's like Paul McCartney's left-handed guitar). </FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face="Bookman Old Style"></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face="Bookman Old Style">And here's something I didn't know -</FONT></DIV> <DIV> <P align=center><STRONG> Antique wood carries sound much better, and lasts longer because of the 50-80 year aging process, unavailable today.  The quality of metalwork for steel and copper-wound strings, in contrast, is much better today than it used to be 100 years ago.  That's why restored antique pianos sound so much better than new pianos and last far longer.</STRONG></P></DIV> <DIV><FONT face="Bookman Old Style">Bob D.</FONT></DIV><BR><BR><BR><DIV><FONT style="color: black; font: normal 10pt ARIAL, SAN-SERIF;"><HR style="MARGIN-TOP: 10px">Get a sneak peak of the all-new <A title="http://discover.aol.com/memed/aolcom30tour/?ncid=AOLAOF00020000000982" href="http://discover.aol.com/memed/aolcom30tour/?ncid=AOLAOF00020000000982" target="_blank">AOL.com</A>.</FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>