Greetings to all! I have a rather perplexing situation that I would appreciate some input on. I've a customer with a new grand piano....approximately seven feet. I will withold the manufacturers name as not to incite a cyber riot. This instrument has displayed some dubious characteristics since day one. I will try to give all the info I can in order to gain the most accurate diagnosis. The Piano has been kept at a fairly close climate level (Temp 72 deg...Hum. 46%) until the latest Arctic blast. Today's specs...Temp. 70 deg....Hum. 26% The pitch of the piano was 15 cents flat. The Piano has had a constant buzzing sound, most prominant at the F4...A4 section. Upon inspection with plate mirrors and feeler guages, no loose joints or foreign material was found. It was found that slight pressure applied to the mid section of the bridge......(very slight!) would cause the annoying buzz would disappear. The only visible abnormality was some slight separation of the bridge at the notches where the bridge pins had caused some splitting....apparantly done in the factory. By the way, the splits were around mid-C area of the bridge, not in the F4...A4 section. While tuning the piano today, I noticed a crack in the finish at the joining area of the stretcher rail and the rim just above the cheek. The crack runs through the top of the rim as well as around the inside. The finish as well as the verneer seem to be splitting. Further inspection showed cracks in the area where the keybed joins the belly. Also, some of the main beams underneath show some separation....one, more than a sixteenth of an inch! The original black paint and glue joints clearly show the fresh wood exposed. I have not yet measured the crown of the soundboard but have noted a deterioration in the tone.....thin and nasal in areas. My past experience with these symptoms has usually been in very old instruments that have lost their structural integrity for one reason or another, not in a new instrument of this implied calibur. My gut tells me that things aren't likely to get any better but will continue to deteriorate. Seems to be more than just a little "settling in" or getting use to the climate goin' on here. Please respond!.........Thanks! Dale Whitehead Whitehead Piano Service Franklin, TN.
This PTG archive page provided courtesy of Moy Piano Service, LLC