[pianotech] Re: Hygrometer

[Greg Newell]

I once heard a rebuilder, who shall remain nameless, say that if an old 
piano didn't have a crack in the soundboard it probably was never that good 
a piano in the first place. I think his reasoning was something to the 
effect that it may never have had any crown or downbearing in the first 
place. Seemed like a very strange statement at the time. Seems even more 
strange now! Thought it might be good for a chuckle though.

Greg


At 04:52 AM 9/9/2002, you wrote:
>Ron,
>      For example, the roundtail 88 note Steinway A's with the three
>bridges frequently have a characteristic crack field to the left of the
>long bridge.  As Dale says there is usually a preeminent crack in front
>of the long bridge but with this piano there are usually several long
>but lesser cracks and partial cracks nearby.   The second, squaretail A,
>without the tenor bridge, although frequently having a typical long
>crack in front of the bridge, does not have the badly broken area
>typical of the roundtails, both 85 and 88 note.  Similarly, the A3
>frequently as a long crack in front of the bridge.  Most of the
>knock-offs of this piano, for example, the AB Chase with the tenor
>bridge also have a roughly similar pattern of cracking.
>      Of course, a dramatic example of predicatability  can be found in
>most Sohmers with the agraffed bridge.  These, as has been mentioned
>before have a very dramatic long crack in front of the bridge with a
>very substantial offset from one side of the crack to the other.
>      In my opinion M's, and O's don't crack as badly as the A's, as I
>have never seen the kind of crack field on these which is very
>frequently encountered on the A's with tenor bridge.   They,  of course,
>typically, may not be as old, as the first two versions of the A.    In
>fact, I would say neither does the B crack as much, although more so
>than the M and O's.  L's, in my experience, a more prone to cracking
>than these others, as is the concert grand.  I see so few C's that I
>don't about them.
>      The Chickering 121 frequently has a small crack 8 or 10 inches on
>the left and right side of the board in the vicinity of the belly rail
>and another, isolated crack more toward the middle of the board but
>still in front of the long bridge.  .  The late model 123's seldom have
>much in the way of cracks at all.  The same can be said of the 135's.
>In fact, I would hazard a guess that the Chickering pianos are far less
>prone to extensive cracking than the pianos of many other manufacturers
>which are Steinway style pianos and the same can be said of the Knabes
>and other stencil brands, that have used,  after the move by Chickering
>to Rochester, very similar ribbing and bridge arrangements to those
>typical of Chickering for at least eighty or ninety years prior to the
>move to Rochester.
>Regards, Robin Hufford
>
>
>Erwinspiano@AOL.COM wrote:
>
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Greg Newell
mailto:gnewell@ameritech.net