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<DIV><FONT size=2>My first clue should have been when the customer =
said over the
phone that she had a "grand spinet". I put it down to typical =
customer
confusion... until I got there this morning. Yup, it's a spinet, =
with
"Grand, 1911" on the fallboard!</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>Pierce says they were made in North Carolina in the
60's. The local dealer says a lot of 'em were sold around =
here. I'd
be hard-pressed to choose between one of these and a Betsey Ross =
(although no
plastic elbows). It had Robertson square-drive plate screws! =
Had to
wash out my ears with soap to get the sound of it out... Paneling =
for a
soundboard, parallel to the floor.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>The second one was a new Samick studio. Loud =
chords
around middle C caused a loud string buzz, something clearly on the
string. Investigation revealed that when the damper heads lifted, =
their
(tails? Can't find my Mason book...) moved so close to the strings that =
they
would actually touch. A chord was needed to cause it; because of =
the slant
of the wound strings, the damper tail of C4 would touch E3 when it was =
played
loudly. Of course, the sustain pedal caused it, too. =
Adjusting the
pedal helped. It was just the middle octave, because the wound =
strings are
closer to the action.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>I thought I could make some minor damper =
adjustments, but
quickly got into Upright Damper Hell. Even the trick of pulling =
the action
to regulate didn't help: I tried shimming the balance rail so that =
the
hammer and damper moved at the same time on my correctly-timed samples, =
but the
damper was already moving before the hammer with the balance rail in its =
normal
position. Maybe there was too much lost motion?</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>Sounds like a complete regulation check is what's =
needed... or
sanding a bit off those tails!</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>--Cy Shuster--</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>Bluefield, WV</FONT></DIV>
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