Brimsmeade serial number

John Lillico, RPT staytuned@idirect.com
Wed, 21 Jun 2000 13:01:26 -0400


>Dear List:

>It *does* have an exquisite case, and I'm guessing it was a very late model
>"cottage piano" (is there a more proper name for these?).

As far as I know, they were just "cottage" pianos.

>There's lots of lost motion to regulate away, but the parts seem fairly good.

Is it a rocker type adjustment or simply a screw under a piece of felt? I'd check for signs of it having previously been dismantled to be certain that the keybed is sitting where it should be.

>Were cottage piano's tuning pins *ever* tight enough to hold a tuning?

Likely not. Those Englishmen used T-hammers and had very strong wrists.

>Were they designed for a very low (like a half tone flat of A440?) pitch standard?

I say "yes". It won't come anywhere near A440.

>-- This one is about 150 cents flat, and wildly out of tune.
>While alot of CA might make the pinblock tight enough for a major pitchraise,
>I'm dubious about the frame and strings' ability to handle it.

You should be!!

>Advice from birdcage rasslers appreciated.
>
>Patrick Draine

All I can say it "good luck". At least now we all know that things are slow in Boston.

John Lillico




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