Venting..."rebuilt piano" walk away or not

David Renaud drjazzca@yahoo.ca
Fri, 3 Oct 2003 17:28:11 -0400 (EDT)


Consider......would you tune this or walk away.

Baby grand no name piano, delivered 2 weeks ago.
"rebuilt" by someone out of town, a "good deal"

1) 1.25 coils on many pins, nothing more then 2 coils
coil(s)spread and messy,  beckets not in pins, and 
pulling well out of their holes on some.

2) No string braid anywhere at all, audible ringing.

3) Hammer tails NOT shaped at all. 76 grams
downweight, 34 grams upweight. Tails rubbing together
at back causing some sticking hammers.    
 
4) New key caps not filed edges at all. Some sharps
  binding on white caps, sticking.

5) String spacing not even close, 1mm between some
strings, 4 mm between others.

6) Hammers do not even strike some strings

7) Very hard key bushings, Key pins turned 45 degrees
   to stop rattle.

8) New damper felt, No tricord at all, low tenor
sings.

9) New pinblock rough cut and epoxied in, 1 cm gap
filled in places.


OH YES.....And the refinishing job is 
ABSOLUTLY BEAUTIFUL.

I walked away. Felt strange to be standing in front
of a beautiful walnut instrument with all that new
shiny string, and new hammers, sparkling, just
delivered, and not be able to tune it. 

Client says, "just tune it, its good enough for me."

I tried tuning it for 15 min, but am sure the beckets
are pulling out. Strings not rendering, ringing,
missed
strings.

The pinblock bottom is not quite perfectly level.
Feels like a gentle small bump over 16 inches or so.
I wonder if he used a pinblock support.

Told the client to ask him if he did use a pinblock
support before saying anything else. If he says "a
what" he has an even bigger problem.

                       Sorry...but....    
                       
                       Grrrrrrrrrrrr

                        Dave Renaud
                        RPT, Ottawa, Canada







 


 















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