Subj; Unhappy Steinway...(cracked plate) From; TunerJeff @ aol.com- Oregon Coast Piano Services To; Those Who Know...something...anything...maybe? Dear Pianotech Folks, A new client to my tuning/repair business has a 9-foot Steinway (mid-70's) with a seriously damaged plate. It cracked at the strut running to the bottom of the upper octave (on the pin-side at the capo) and along the rim at the edge of the pinblock immediately across. This damage was repaired by welding the affected areas...but the welding-work has developed cracks, too. Starting at the bottom and working upwards at each welded gob...er...umm...ah... repaired section of the plate. At my first visit (...and immediately noticing a strange quality to the upper octave), I penciled marks at the 'top' of the (then...) tiny cracks in the weld-repairs. I found the upper octave to be totally unstable in tuning, and extremely deficient in tone...it sounded vague or colorless (...hey! You try to describe it!...I'm doin' my best...). I suspected that they missed the mark when re-welding the plate, and the huge lumps of extra materiel laid on the affected areas didn't seem promising. My first few checks on the pencil marks found no developement in the flaws. I had hoped that the problems were stabilized...and that some stability would be achieved in tuning and we'd find a way to obtain decent tone. Nope. Hasn't happened. Each attempt to tune the upper octave is simply an exercise in frustration and the meaning of Life. I can't achieve good tuning or find good tone from that area of the piano. (No surprise..as the welds are at each end of the upper capo...but hope springs eternal!) This posting to you comes on the heels of a call from the accompanist at the church. She had been keeping an eye on the pencil marks (...worried...worried...worried) and has discovered that they are growing...daily. She is concerned for the safety of her choir, and of the damage the piano may suffer when (...not IF....when...) the plate gives way. Question; Is there real danger to people in the area from this instrument? ...I have ZERO experience with this kind of flaw in a 9-foot piano, but 25 tons of pressure deserves respect. Wouldn't the plate achieve zero-tension after 2-inches of movement? Or would it resemble a war zone...with flying strings and shards of plate sleeting across the room??? The only eyewitness (...earwitness?) report I've ever heard on the sound a plate makes when it breaks was; "Amazing"...and the plate simply failed, shifted slightly, and caused zero collateral damage. Question; Would Steinway & Sons repair this piano? Would you? Should we consider the artistic effect of a 9-foot wing-shaped bookcase? (...or does anybody have an extra plate for it behind the coffee machine??) Question; Given a typical church budget. Would your company (or a re-builder of your aquaintance) offer them ANYTHING for this instrument? They certainly do need an instrument to replace it, as the church is involved with local performing arts. (This is/was one of 2 available full-size instruments in the area...a heavy loss.) Question; Should I deliver the benediction and reduce the string tension to zero with a 1/2 turn or so at each pin? I'd like to pretend that this would eliminate any hazard, and preserve the instrument from damaging itself further (...rim, soundboard, pinblock, etc.) if the plate does happen to fail...dramatically or otherwise. There is no defect or flaw assigned to Steinway in this piano's condition. The plate was cracked by mis-handling during shipping (...yah...they dropped it...). Any help would be appreciated. Any information regarding a home (...or hospital) for it would reach the church people through me. Costs of re-building will be duly noted (...with much shaking of heads and scratching at noggins over phrases like 'pinblock replacement' & 'sustaining-monkey re-furbishment'). Any bright lights? Firm suggestions? Buyers!? I appreciate your time in perusing this missive, and eagerly await your replies. Help. Sincerely, Jeffrey T. Hickey RPT TunerJeff @ aol.com Oregon Coast Piano Services (541) 756-7701
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