Broadwood Grand

[Ron Nossaman]

>Thanks Ron.. the reason I asked is that I get questioned about the feasability
>from time to time about taking an old instrument case and plate, and
ripping out
>absolutely everything and essentially building a brand new piano inside an old
>case, and around the constraints of the origional plate. Aside from the
...er...
>ethical sides to this question, I have always been curious myself as to the
>feasibility of this. I get from your post that this is not something that
can be
>generally done ??.. What would be the physical stoppers for such an
operation ??
>
>Richard Brekne



Well, perhaps I'm just a heathen, but I don't think there is all that much
of an ethical side to the process, any more than in Team Toyota's entry in
the Baja not remotely resembling anything the customer can purchase in the
showroom. In the case of the piano, it's being done with the customer's
blessing, and the hope of improving performance over what the "stock"
hardware capable of, so I really don't see a problem. Then again, it seems
like a shame to see the piano manufacturer get the credit for the  higher
performance level if the tech produces a better piano redesigned and
remanufactured, than it originally was. Where does ethics come down on that
issue? 

Limiting factors would be the rim construction (material, method), shape and
solidity, plate configuration (as you mentioned, including scale breaks,
thickness, hitch pin placement, and such), dimensions of the action cavity
in case you had to re engineer the action from something weird to something
more standard, The customer's (remarkable) faith in your ability to do the
job, your own (hopefully realistic) faith in your ability to do the job, and
enough of the customer's money to do the job. Not necessarily in that order.
Oh yes, the technician's lack of good judgement, or attention to detail, in
accepting, planning, and pricing a job like this can make the rest of the
process even more interesting.  

It wasn't my intention to imply that this couldn't, generally, be done.
Del's been doing this very thing for some time, and I've gotten into it in
the last couple of years. Yes, it is quite possible to build an entirely
new, and sometimes dramatically better, piano in an existing carcass. It's
also WAY more fun than normal restorative rebuilding, but a bit more
stressful too. My comments about the Broadwood meant just what I said.
Restringing it won't make it into a modern piano, no matter what the
customer wishes. Trying to remanufacture it into a modern piano would, like
Dale indicated, probably be more trouble, and cost more money, than it is
worth for what you would get out of it. Not everything is a good candidate
for this kind of work. Too often, we discover these things the hard way.

 Ron N