The Oliver

[Farrell]

I just tuned an 1887 Knabe upright last week that had a full set of iron-wound bass strings - still had quite a bit of life left in them!

Terry Farrell
  
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Alan R. Barnard" <mathstar@salemnet.com>
To: <pianotech@ptg.org>
Sent: Monday, November 04, 2002 10:42 PM
Subject: The Oliver


Looked at an old upright in a church social hall today. The fallboard name is "The Oliver" and the Plate says "Oliver ... Chicago Ill. & Huntington, Ind. 

I tune their chapel piano and they wanted my advice. My advice will be ".. .off the nearest cliff" But they were really interested in knowing its age. Pierce is not clear ... two listings for "Oliver."

Anyone? The serial number is 21719. Would it be a Schaff Bros. (Wurlitzer) serial number? That would make it 1905 and it certainly could be that old.

Base strings are steel or nickel-wound, definitely not brass. When was steel used? Might they be original or a 60-year-old re-string? Man, talk about some dead bass strings, we are talking about Zither-Zombies, here (not a bridge problem either). 

Thanks, 

Alan Barnard
Stumped in Salem, MO