[CAUT] Bass end "rattle" on S&S "D" Being prepped for BrickmanConcert SOLVED! Question about Steinway Rebuilder

[Michael Magness]

On Fri, Sep 26, 2008 at 4:49 PM, Ed Sutton <ed440 at mindspring.com> wrote:

>  Mike-
>
> Remember, in your dealings with the school, that someone there made the
> decision to have this guy rebuild the piano.
> When you criticize the piano, you are also questioning the judgement of the
> person who made the decision.
> Too heavy an attack on the rebuilder will be felt as an attack on the
> faculty who advocated for him.
>
> Ed Sutton
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> *From:* Michael Magness <IFixPianos at yahoo.com>
> *To:* Pianotech List <pianotech at ptg.org> ; caut at ptg.org
> *Sent:* Friday, September 26, 2008 9:26 AM
> *Subject:* [CAUT] Bass end "rattle" on S&S "D" Being prepped for
> BrickmanConcert SOLVED! Question about Steinway Rebuilder
>
>  Many thanks to all for your excellent and timely advice.
>  It turned out to be the very first suggestion from Ed Foote amplified by
> suggestions from Fred Sturm.
> I was still convinced it was a rib/soundboard problem so I used the palette
> knife test from underneath as Ed Sutton had described but could find no
> loose areas anywhere. That test will remain in my arsenal for the future
> however.
> I climbed out from underneath and probed with the long palatte knife under
> the bridge and there was that opening, I placed a wedge, played the notes
> and voila, no more rattle. I removed the wedge added a drop of Franklin's
> hide glue and replaced it and was done for the morning.
> I was scheduled to return at 3:30 to "touchup" the tuning after sound
> check. I arrived on time and sat for almost 3 hours waiting, Brickman didn't
> arrive until after 5 and then was unhappy with the tone of the piano through
> the tenor section.
> I had pre-tuned the piano Wed. afternoon using a concert tuning giving it
> plenty of stretch in the upper end which gave it a brighter sound in the
> treble and with the strong bass of the D made the tenor sound muffled by
> comparison. He was complaining about that throughout the sound check. His
> tech guy came over and told me he prefers Yamaha's and that was the real
> problem. There was some mention that it was a Hamburg D by the theatre
> manager, my Steinway knowledge isn't that strong, I wouldn't know how to
> tell.
>
> I didn't tell him that I had told the people at the school that the piano
> was in very poor regulation, aftertouch of .060"+, hammers checking very
> low, repitition springs tight, 25+ swings on the few random hammerflanges I
> checked and more.
> While I was prepping the piano, prep being rough tuning, hunting for the
> rattle and fine tuning it on Wed., that was all they wanted/allowed me to
> do, there was a meeting at which it was decided I should only tune, not do
> any "tech" work. It was explained to me that the pianos had been rebuilt by
> their "Steinway rebuilder" who had given them a warranty and he would be
> called for the tech work.
>
> The link below is an article about him and his rebuilding work for the
> school. If you google his name, some other articles and his website come up.
> He is not a PTG member, I don't believe he ever has been, note the
> self-taught quote. To my knowledge he has no contact with any techs, at
> least in this area, none in our chapter. With the exception of John
> Sheldach, who left his employ to work as a piano tech in the LaCrosse, WI
> area and was my predecessor at the school in question, before following his
> fiance to her new job in Madison, WI about 150 miles away
> http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3652/is_200009/ai_n8910061
>
> I would be very interested to know if anyone knows this Steinway
> rebuilder or of him outside our little area.
>
> Mike
> -
> I feel sorry for the person who can't get genuinely excited about his work.
> Not only will he never be satisfied, but he will never achieve anything
> worthwhile.
> Walter Chrysler
>
>
>
> Michael Magness
> Magness Piano Service
> 608-786-4404
> www.IFixPianos.com <http://www.ifixpianos.com/>
> email mike at ifixpianos.com
>
>

Thanks Ed for the reminder that it's always a good idea to tread lightly.

I am only asking about him because we, other techs in the area and those in
my chapter as well as myself, are well aware of his self-agrandizing
reputation.
I cannot fault his work for the most part the pianos seem to be servicable
enough.
I will however be the first to admit my hands on experience with Steinways
is quite limited.
My questions are, is the work worth the $20,000 to $30,000 he charges per
piano, 2 D's and a B thus far.

Refinished the D's in ebony polyester, the B in lacquer, it was his first
for them.

I'm told he sandblasts the plates before refinishing them.

He replaces all the action parts with new, I'm not familiar enough with S&S
to tell if they are Steinway or other.

He apparantly gives an extended warranty but is too busy to come do the
repairs.

They are raising money for him to do 3 more but can't afford to properly
humidity control the ones that have been done, in a building that is
primarily masonry construction and 9 blocks from the Mississippi River.

There is more but supper's ready!

Mike

-- 
I feel sorry for the person who can't get genuinely excited about his work.
Not only will he never be satisfied, but he will never achieve anything
worthwhile.
Walter Chrysler



Michael Magness
Magness Piano Service
608-786-4404
www.IFixPianos.com
email mike at ifixpianos.com
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: https://www.moypiano.com/ptg/caut.php/attachments/20080926/5e59c441/attachment.html