Weber with 4 string unisons

[Jeannie Grassi]

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Dave.
I took care of one of these for years.  There were only a few made.  At
one time there was a fellow trying to find all of them in the country
and it turned out the majority were here on the West Coast.  Paderewski
used them when he was feuding with Steinway and often the program would
even mention the use of the Weber.  
 
The one I took care of was also not in good shape.  It needed to be
rebuild to realize it's beauty.  The quad unisons were a pain in the
neck because there were many false beats.  Also, there was a whole
section of wire that kept breaking; obviously metal fatigue.....As I
said, it needed to be rebuilt.  
 
It had rocker capstans, which in themselves are not necessarily a
problem, but the key sticks were in bad shape.  Most of the screws for
the capstans had seized up and made adjustments very difficult....As I
said, it needed to be rebuilt.
 
The sound was massive, in spite of all the problems.  I'd love to see
one in good shape.
 
Hope this helps,
jeannie
 
Jeannie Grassi, RPT
Associate Editor, Piano Technicians Journal
mailto:jcgrassi@earthlink.net 

-----Original Message-----
From: pianotech-bounces@ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces@ptg.org] On
Behalf Of Piannaman@aol.com
Sent: Saturday, May 08, 2004 8:29 PM
To: pianotech@ptg.org
Subject: Weber with 4 string unisons


Old Weber fans, 

Today I happened upon an old Weber 9 foot concert grand that was not in
the greatest shape, though in its time, it must have been REALLY
magnificent.  The strings were pretty rusted, though at pitch, and
tunable(despite having been installed more sloppily than I've ever
seen). I didn't get to tune the whole thing, just looked it over a bit. 

The interesting feature is the four string unisons above the
treble/tenor strut.  I wish the piano was in good shape so I could
really evaluate what musical effect this would create.  Has anyone on
this list come across one of these in decent condition?  Tuning them
must be a bit of a challenge.  The strings of each note are so close
together, that they seem quite difficult to get a mute between. 

Just another of life's interesting pianos. 

Dave Stahl 


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