A Glut of Old Uprights

[Tom Cole]

Clyde Hollinger wrote:
> 
> Tom,
> 
> I have a couple thoughts.  How long would it take you to make these
> retrofits?  Will the client be willing to pay for them?  I suspect that a
> client who is satisfied with an old upright doesn't care much if it is flat
> or not, as long as it sounds reasonably good to them.  Also, in this part of
> the country, your "if" statement would almost never apply ("if a piano has
> gotten light playing ... and the environment was friendly").
> 
> I certainly see no harm in your going this direction, but it's not what I
> would do.
> 

Clyde,

It might take 4 hours - mostly labor - which would compare favorably
with the cost of restringing. If I somewhat hypothetically quoted them
$1750 minimum to restring and $250 to transpose the keyboard, they might
see the lesser expensive job as a bargain. I don't push for concert
pitch if the player is an older person who doesn't care, but I don't
like to see a child learning on a seriously flat instrument.

It occurred to me that this is pretty much a moot point in the
Northeast. I see a lot of more-than-70-year-old uprights with perfect
pin blocks and/or uncracked soundboards and bridges so this pertains
more to the west coast or similar environs.

I don't see myself doing a whole lot of these modifications, given how
few people have perfect pitch. On the other hand, if the piano is going
to be used with fixed pitch instruments, or the child notices the pitch
difference between his piano and his teachers, there may be some
application for the idea.

Tom
-- 
Thomas A. Cole, RPT
Santa Cruz, CA
mailto:tcole@cruzio.com