As long as the subject has come up - I was asked to evaluate a new M&H A (less than a year old) for a customer who has been dissatisfied with it from the beginning. On this occasion he was questioning the lack of sustain. It has a drastic drop off immediately & dies out within a few seconds in the middle & lower treble sections. I plucked the strings but got no more sustain than with the hammers & the string had a bit of a twang to it instead of the bright clear ping I would expect of such an instrument. Next I got out my bubble downbearing gauge & checked several strings on the bridge. Consistently in the middle & lower treble sections the gauge read 0 or very near 0 both front & rear. On the worst old pianos I've never found negative bearings on both sides of the bridge. The high treble measured some bearing but emitted a very odd sound & rapid decay. The bass had an extremely steep bearing & also an odd hard & ugly sound when played loudly - at a soft level the tone is "pretty" but small. The soundboard measured slight crown near the center rib. The owner & I have both spoken with Cecil Ramirez who showed real concern, but said that the NYC dealer who sold it must first examine it. The dealer (who is not a technician) is going to look at it in a week. Has anyone had experience with this sort of situation? Any feedback greatly appreciated. Bruce Greig
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