"Stretch Marks"

[Ronald R Shiflet]

Dale,
	Call the manufacturer.  Most of the time, their rep can tell you
how to fix it over the phone.  It should be a warranty job.  In the eyes
of the customer this can make you and the manufacturer look good.  In the
eyes of the manufacturer, this makes you look good and you're setting
yourself up for future referrals.  It shouldn't be hard to resolve this
in a way that all parties win.  Good luck.

Ron Shiflet


On Tue, 21 Jan 1997 00:10:18 -0500 (EST) Daleboy@aol.com writes:
>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.
>