Last night I saw an interesting piano, a 1910 Fischer maybe about 58" tall, maybe 5'. I got a desperate call from this lady who says the previous tuner ruined her piano because not the keys rattled and the tone was muffled on some notes and it didn't sound that way before. Since she lives one block and one house away I went over to take a look see. I spent some time talking to her, filing three hammers, adjusting the pedals for silence, tweaking this and that. Some interesting features: Lost motion compensater Bass hammers cut both side, top and bottom Solid metal pedal levers that use adjustable pivot ends 28 bass No bass cut off bar Treble bridge hooked back up :( Brass rail for the butt pins :( What a fabulously fabricated Fischer. They tried to make a wonderful piano and they succeeded marvelously. Next week I will file the hammers (what's left of them), tighten all the screws, and adjust the lost motion and touch up the tuning. What it really needs: Hammers, Damper felts Regulation Keytops (replace old replacements) New bass strings (with new scale) Maybe new pins (restringing) Refinishing None of which she can afford. Sometimes you run across one of those old monsters that are worth preserving and delightful to work upon. Such is the case here. Have a fantastic weekend everyone! Newton
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