Hi Ric, Yes I have done the Wapin thing...but only once a few years ago on an old(ish) Yamaha U1 as a low cost experiment. I haven't persued the concept in my rebuilding here in Australia...too hard to sell a concept no-one's heard of, and the licensing fees added a bit of a whack to the overall job. Our dollar was miserable against the mighty greenback at the time. The trial piano was indeed a changed piano - I like a lot! but there were too many factors changed in it to be absolutely sure that Wapin made the big changes. To compare this piano with the Stuart is folly. And for the same reasons , it's difficult to really know for sure whether it's the aggraffes, the nil crown s/board, short ribs, scale design etc etc in the Stuart that give it that different sound. I know the hammers must be a part of it as well! I've just remembered that he uses Abels....but they're unlike anything I've seen before. The underfelt is really minimal and the shape is a little different...a photo would tell the story better than I can describe...maybe one of the Sydney list lurkers can send a digital image ?... I wish him well, I only wish he'd have a little more to do with the rest of the industry here. He's got a real attitude against the Guilds here and what they stand for, and as a result, most tuners don't know or want to know what he's about. Cheers Mark Bolsius
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