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<DIV><FONT size=2> (For- What- It's- Worth
Dept.):</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2> I tune a 1916 Hardman 5'2" grand =
which I
think used to be great-sounding but now, for various reasons, is just
"OK". But I have a 1904 Hardman, Peck upright in my living room =
which has
more guts in the bass and better sustain than many a small grand. =
The case
is also beautiful with an inlaid Greek key pattern across the top and =
around the
keybed and inlaid wood "torches" with mother-of-pearl handles and flames =
on the
front panel. It also has a cast iron frame under the keybed, =
making it
quite heavy. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2> The action is a Wessell, =
Nickel, &
Gross, with wippens that have lost motion compensators for the soft =
pedal.
W, N, & G really made some nice actions in their heyday, but I've =
seen some
from later decades that were a disgrace to the once-famous name. =
Maybe
this was after Aeolian bought the Hardman name -- did they also control =
the W,
N, & G name? According to a book I read about pianos -- I =
forget which
one -- actions made by Wessell, Nickel, & Gross (three former =
Steinway
employees who went into the action manufacturing biz), became quite well =
known. But of course the general public didn't always remember the =
exact
names and some salesmen of the time would try to sell a piano by touting =
its
"wood, nickel, & brass" action. No kidding.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2> Hardman, Peck also made =
mini-uprights
with different names on the fallboard</FONT>. Mine says 'Hensel', =
with
Hardman, Peck & Co. underneath. It's a cute 42" upright, not =
console,
with 73 keys, and sounds as good as most spinets or drop-action consoles =
I've
tuned. Great gig piano -- I can roll it up a ramp into =
my truck
all by my lonesome. --Dave =
Nereson</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> ----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE
style="BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-RIGHT: =
0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px">
<DIV
style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: =
black"><B>From:</B>
<A href="mailto:kam544@flash.net" =
title=kam544@flash.net>kam544@flash.net</A>
</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A =
href="mailto:pianotech@ptg.org"
title=pianotech@ptg.org>pianotech@ptg.org</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Tuesday, December 12, =
2000 9:50
PM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Re: A terrible =
piano</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>>...I would have sworn<BR>>I was tuning a 75 year =
old
Hardman upright...<BR>>Patrick Greene<BR><BR>Hey, watch how you =
throw that
name around there, pardner... :)<BR><BR>I picked up a 1909 =
Hardman grand
(about 5' 8") about a week ago that looked<BR>like the pits for all =
practical
purposes, has multiple cracks in the<BR>soundboard, definite bearing =
problems
in places, action regulation highly<BR>irregular, pedal lyre loose as =
a goose,
action shifts to the left, chipped<BR>keytops, tuning pin solution =
stains
abound, about every reason on earth to<BR>trash the thing, or do a =
complete
rebuild ... but with a name like Hardman?<BR><BR>For the fun of it, I
installed some used Tokiwa shanks and Abel hammers<BR>that were =
removed from a
Steinway D. Did some rough regulation ... very<BR>rough ... and =
man,
does it put out like no piano I've ever met ...
just<BR>unbelievable.<BR><BR>It defies all known piano technology I've =
learned. Just blows me away the<BR>magic sensation it gives when =
I play
it. I'm going to do as little as<BR>possible to not lose that
mystique.<BR><BR>So watch how you throw that name around there,
pardner... :)<BR><BR>Keith McGavern<BR>Registered Piano
Technician<BR>Oklahoma Chapter 731<BR>Piano Technicians
Guild<BR>USA<BR></BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>