<!doctype html public "-//w3c//dtd html 4.0 transitional//en"> <html> <body bgcolor="#FFFFFF" link="#0000FF" vlink="#800080" lang="EN-US"> Tell them that it will probably not perform satisfactorilly in a sanctuary... they seem to have decided upon that already... but mention that it would be dandy for an youths activity room where one needs not worry about having to expect too much for such a small but cozy instrument. That way they can find a way of gracefully being thankfull for the gift, find an appropriate use for it, and get it off the stage at the same time. Cheers RicB Jeffrey Schlaybach wrote: <blockquote TYPE=CITE><style>@font-face { font-family: Tahoma; } @page Section1 {size: 8.5in 11.0in; margin: 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in; } P.MsoNormal { FONT-SIZE: 12pt; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; FONT-FAMILY: "Times New Roman" } LI.MsoNormal { FONT-SIZE: 12pt; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; FONT-FAMILY: "Times New Roman" } DIV.MsoNormal { FONT-SIZE: 12pt; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; FONT-FAMILY: "Times New Roman" } A:link { COLOR: blue; TEXT-DECORATION: underline } SPAN.MsoHyperlink { COLOR: blue; TEXT-DECORATION: underline } A:visited { COLOR: purple; TEXT-DECORATION: underline } SPAN.MsoHyperlinkFollowed { COLOR: purple; TEXT-DECORATION: underline } SPAN.EmailStyle17 { COLOR: navy; FONT-FAMILY: Arial } DIV.Section1 { page: Section1 } </style> All: Long story but I'll try to condense. Called to tune a "donated" piano at a local church a month ago. Piano is a Kimbell Consolette - serial number 469761. Piano is very much under pitch and required about a 125 cent pitch raise and then a fine tuning. Piano was being prepared for use in the sanctuary. Hammers are worn and rather hard, but no string broke, and bridge, case & soundboard all appear in good condition. Dampers are worn and compressed as well, but all damp and function. Action required no repairs as all keys worked OK. Left feeling pretty good about state the piano was in after I was done compared to its condition upon arrival 3 hours earlier. Called 2 days ago by the same church secretary who indicates the need me to return to 1 - fix some dead keys & 2 - Give an opinion if piano is junk or should have money spent to make it "better" as a sanctuary piano. I explain that all keys played when I had left or else I would not have been able to tune it. I'm also not sure I want to make a recommendation about a donated piano when the donors are members of this church (not my church BTW). But make an appointment to see piano. So today I went to see what might be going on. I meet a deacon, the pastor and the secretary in a meeting and explain that I was called to look at their piano and could they again explain what service I was to perform. The deacon begins to give me an ear full, in a nice way, about how this piano has no resonance, and spends the next 10 minutes lauding the sound of a 10 year old electric keyboard they had apparently used for years in the sanctuary. I ask about the dead keys - the pastor indicates that since it is his wife that plays in a Sunday, he knows of no dead keys. I go look at piano - a few of the strings have "settled" and I tweak these, and I also voiced some of the hammers to soften their tone a bit. While in the process of doing this the pastor's wife comes in and begins asking if I think this piano will ever work in a sanctuary that could hold over 200 people. She explains that she heard the piano at the former owners home in the basement which was completely empty, and she thought it sounded much "fuller" even though it was out of tune. As a student tech here's what I told them: 1 - The piano is too small for the settling they are trying to use it in - OK for a Sunday School classroom but not in a hall when the carpet, pews, people are all absorbing the littel sound it makes.2 - Since the back of the piano was within 2 inches of the stage, and the stage was nearly the same height as the piano, I suggested they at least move the piano away from the stage 8 inches, or better yet move it so the back faces the congregation.3 - I explained that a piano with short strings like this will never have the sustain and resonance that one would get from a large upright or grand.4 - Because they mentioned they tried to sit a mic behind it I explained that unless they purchased a bar mic which attaches to the soundboard, they are not likely to do more then amplified a tiny frequency range of the piano and will likely not serve their intention.5 - I suggest they move it to a classroom so the donors are not offended when they have another piano or keyboard to take its place6 - I recommend they get a 2nd opinion if they feel uncomfortable with my "Student" status and suggest another tech in the area who has been doing this for over 50 years.7 - That I tweaked a few strings into tune explaining that a pitch raise of the magnitude I did can sometimes require this. And that I tried to soften the tone a bit by voicing the hammers. I charged them my normal hourly rate (it took about 1 hour) and left with everyone sounding satisfied when I left. What else might I have done/said/tried? Do you agree with my recommendation and observations? Thanks oh wise ones! Jeff SchlaybachRobesonia, PA</blockquote> -- Richard Brekne RPT, N.P.T.F. UiB, Bergen, Norway <A HREF="mailto:rbrekne@broadpark.no">mailto:rbrekne@broadpark.no</A> <A HREF="http://home.broadpark.no/~rbrekne/ricmain.html">http://home.broadpark.no/~rbrekne/ricmain.html</A> <A HREF="http://www.hf.uib.no/grieg/personer/cv_RB.html">http://www.hf.uib.no/grieg/personer/cv_RB.html</A>   </body> </html>