[CAUT] 80 year old S&S hammers

[Jim Busby]

True!

JB

-----Original Message-----
From: caut-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:caut-bounces at ptg.org] On Behalf Of Ron Nossaman
Sent: Thursday, April 09, 2009 9:27 PM
To: caut at ptg.org
Subject: Re: [CAUT] 80 year old S&S hammers

Jim Busby wrote:
> 
> A few months back I posted an ad by the father of the "5 Browns" for a 
> 1939 D for sale. Supposedly it was pick by Paderewski for his final 
> concert...  I finally got to look at the piano. It did have quite good 
> sound, good sustain, crown in the soundboard and the right bearing in 
> the right places, etc., no killer octave, per se, and all original 
> except the strings, which were 6 years old. I've never seen a CC 
> soundboard that old that good. Did they do rib-crowned soundboards back 
> then? Maybe they just got lucky. Rick Baldassin was with me and agreed 
> that this one needed an action rebuild only.
> 
> The main reason I'm writing is that the hammers were original, and 
> although it was played hard for many hours every day for many years, 
> these hammers still sound great! No grooves. No Lacquer. Very supple 
> felt. How can that be? 80 years and no grooves/wear??
> 
> I kind of chuckled at all the hype in his ad, but it was kind of 
> refreshing to find that it was a decent instrument.
> 
> Jim Busby
> 
> p.s. I think a school in Oregon is trying to buy it.

It ought to be going to Lourdes, considering.
Ron N