What I learned from smashing up a Packard today.

[Richard Eldon BARBER]

I'd like to hear that on a CD.  I played in an "orchestra" a few times
in SF/Oakland that destroyed a piano as its musical climax.   I have a
scar from that (playing glissandi with spray paint can).
Rick



Quoted:
What I learned from smashing up a Packard today.
Piannaman@aol.com Piannaman@aol.com
Thu, 3 Nov 2005 12:22:26 EST
 
 
Gordon,
 
I thought I'd share my Packard experience.
 
Back in my piano moving days a couple of decades ago, I was moving one
of  
these beasts.  It was quite heavy and rather unwieldy, to put it 
mildly.  I had 
no help that day, and it got away from me on the lift gate  of the
truck (in 
the up position).  It toppled 5 feet to the ground onto  it's back.  In
a very 
shaky, quite adrenalized state, I got it upright and  on the dolly
again, and 
when it got to its destination, it played as though  nothing at all had

happened to it. Further examination revealed that nothing  did!
 
They were strong, for sure.  Great playing pianos~
 
Dave Stahl
 
In a message dated 10/31/2005 7:48:38 A.M. Pacific Standard Time,  
lclgcnp@yahoo.com writes:

Had to smash up a 1920's Packard upright, today,
one of  the best-playing, best sounding pianos I've
ever seen. I felt bad about it,  but it was in the way
and had terrible case and bridge damage due to  some
moron parking it beneath a dripping/spraying air
conditioner.   Still, the sound was magnificent.
That it did not die in  vain, I relate the
following:
It had a heavy pressure bar.  The plate was almost
like steel. Members that would have broken with a  claw
hammer on most pianos took 10 whacks with a  full
sized sledge  before they split ( Ugh! ) The back posts
and blocks were all of 5, 3/4"  plys of mahogany and
rock maple. The soundboard was 3/8" thick at the  
upper edge, and 5/16" thick at the lower edge, of
wonderfully straight,  tight-grain spruce with about 40
lines per inch. It had a  dozen ribs  that were very
stout: the largest being 1-1/4" wide and 7/8"  thick.
These also appeared to be radially cut, so the belly
was very  solid, with both rib and compression
crowning, as far as I could  tell.
The treble bridge had a vertically laminated  root
and was doweled into the board every 4 inches.
The  bass bridge was stright, on a small shelf.
They keys were  very short, to minimalize inertia.
The piano was very wide and 52" tall, to  allow shorter
action parts for better response, while maintaining
board  size and string length.
Considering the amount of water that  obviously had
sprayed on to it, most pianos would have been
completely  destroyed. But this one sounded and played
wonderfully, to my amazement.  
Peace,
G

P.S. Oh yes! It also said  "Founded 1871",  so my guess
is that the Packard family learned it's  stuff making
pianos before it started making  automobiles.