Hi, Jim. Over the years I've rebuilt several 19th century Chickering grands (the ones with the killer 4 piece pinblocks) that were truly outstanding instruments. Likewise I've rebuilt several later Chickering Ampico grands and a couple of Quarter Grands (Killer 2 piece pinblocks) that were also quite good, although not quite as good as the earlier ones. Old Chickering uprights are another story. They have not held up nearly as well over the years as Steinway uprights of similar vintage (late 19th and early 20th centuries). Soundboard, bridge and pinblock problems are much more frequent- ly encountered in older Chickering uprights than they are in older Steinway uprights. Then, too, the design of those old Chickering upright actions can present the technician with a variety of knotty restoration problems. And to top it all off their tone quality was unexceptional. To put it into perspective, Chickerings reputation was established by their 19th century grands, which, at their very best, could give similar vintage Steinway grands a run for their money. However, as far as uprights go, Late 19th and early 20th century Steinways out-classed those built by Chickering by a country mile. In fact, Steinway uprights of that vintage get my vote as some of the finest ever built by anyone, anytime, anyplace. The quality of even the Chickering grands started to decline once they be- came part of the American Piano Company in 1907. And, of course, once the American Piano Company was taken over by Aeolian, Chickering never again would provide any competition at all to Steinway. It's glory days were clearly behind it. And, as we all know, in more recent years Aeolian produced some really bad instruments carrying the once proud name of Chickering. One of the five pianos that I own is an 1896 Chickering grand which I restored many years ago and was just too good to sell. It is a constant reminder to me of how good Chickerings could be at their very best. And it remains to this day one of my "benchmark" pianos, against which I measure all others. Les Smith lessmith@buffnet.net On Tue, 11 Jun 1996 TUNERJIM@aol.com wrote: > Les: > > Are you one of those techs who say that Chickerings should go to the other > placer? > Or are you just speculating that some other technicians might have this > opinion. Do you have an opinion? Remember the post concerning the > difference between ignorane and ... what was the other? > > > tunerjim, always seeking enlightenment from those who KNOW! >
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