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<DIV>
<DIV> Usually Dave I find that the improvement in tone thru=
some judicious voicing & shaping is what these pianos need mo=
st.
Couple that with the cleaner feel of taking up loss motion & dialing in =
the
let off & the improvement is usually noticeable to even casual players. =
The
cleaning is all preventative stuff which doesn't take that long & most f=
olks
understand the value of that.</DIV>
<DIV> But I know what you mean. Hey that's life in the piano biz.</DIV=
>
<DIV> Merry Xmas</DIV>
<DIV> Dale</DIV>
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style="PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: blue 2px solid"><=
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style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent" face=Arial color=#000000 size=
=2>
Tuned a medium-quality console that was 25 or 30 years old and had =
had
<BR>minimal use. While tuning along, I noticed that it could use
vacuuming and <BR>a light hammer filing, but not terribly. There was=
a
bit too much lost <BR>motion, but not enough to bother most players. =
Several hammers weren't <BR>quite aligned to the center of the unisons, bu=
t
were still striking all <BR>three strings. I'm sure the keys weren't=
perfectly level, nor the dip <BR>nicely uniform, and from its age and leng=
th
of time without tuning, I'm sure <BR>all the flange screws needed tighteni=
ng,
along with plate screws and all <BR>other screws. Oh, and there were=
a
few strings in the treble that maybe <BR>needed seating on the bridge or m=
aybe
their bridge pins tapped in (false <BR>beats). And I imagine that th=
e
let-off was a bit wide. But it played <BR>nicely and had a decent,
acceptable tone and sustain.<BR> Nevertheless, I thought I sh=
ould
point out to the owner what work the <BR>piano could use in addition to tu=
ning
to put it in top shape. So I <BR>explained all the above-mentioned
items, that it was 30 years old and no <BR>piano goes that long without
needing at least some routine maintenance, and <BR>that it would cos=
t a
few hundred dollars to do a complete job.<BR> She replied, "W=
hat
would I notice?"<BR> And you know, in all honesty, I had to
reply, "Well, maybe not much." <BR>The tone might be a LITTLE rounder afte=
r
hammer filing, or it might be too <BR>bright and need subsequent voicing
down. The tone was pretty nice as it <BR>was. She MIGHT notice=
that the action was a tiny bit more responsive (no <BR>lost motion, closer=
let-off) IF she was a fairly advanced player, which she <BR>was not. =
But
vacuuming, tightening plate and flange screws, seating strings <BR>or brid=
ge
pins, de-traveling "wandering" shanks, regulating dip . . . I <BR>doubt sh=
e or
most average casual players would notice any change. (I <BR>already
tuned it).<BR> Now, with much older pianos where the hammers =
are
extremely worn and the <BR>action is extremely out of regulation, or when =
the
hammers badly need <BR>voicing, often the difference after reconditioning =
is
dramatic. And <BR>sometimes the sum of the parts is greater than the=
whole, that is, they <BR>might not notice this or that item, but all toget=
her,
the reconditioning <BR>improves the sound and touch of the instrument.&nbs=
p;
But in this case, I had a <BR>hard time selling the job to even
myself.<BR> Whatta ya do in these cases? Just leave
it? Wait until it's "pretty <BR>bad" before you work on it? Wh=
y
should they spend $300 or more if the piano <BR>will feel and sound about =
the
same as it did before? It doesn't increase <BR>the value all that
much. It does prevent things from getting worse, I <BR>guess, but in=
this case, I think the piano would be about the same, <BR>regulation-wise,=
in
5 or even 10 years from now, with its very casual use, <BR>since it's been=
"about the same" for the LAST 5 or 10 years.<BR> --Davi=
d
Nereson, RPT<BR></FONT></BLOCKQUOTE></DIV>
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