Weber upright from 1884.

[John Ross]

What have you got to lose by taking it up to A440 now?
I have raised quite a few older pianos, with no adverse effect.
Granted, in some, strings broke, but that did not end up anywhere near the 
cost of a restring.
John M. Ross
Windsor, Nova Scotia, Canada
jrpiano at win.eastlink.ca
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Israel Stein" <custos3 at comcast.net>
To: <pianotech at ptg.org>
Sent: Tuesday, January 01, 2008 3:14 PM
Subject: Re: Weber upright from 1884.


> Martin,
>
> If there are no structural issues with this piano, I would not hesitate to 
> raise it to A=440 after restringing. Weber was a high-quality piano 
> manufacturer at this time (for a short while they even competed with 
> Steinway and the others for the concert stage) and there is ample evidence 
> that in the late 19th century in the US pitches quite a bit higher than 
> 440 - as high as 447 - were in use (as were lower pitches ca. 435), so 
> pianos had to have been built to withstand those tensions.
>
> Happy new year,
>
> Israel Stein
>
>
>
> At 10:17 AM 1/1/2008, you wrote:
>>List:
>>
>>I raised the pitch this afternoon on this 1884 New York Weber upright to
>>A-435 and still 3 strings broke.(It still has its original strings). I
>>spliced them back on. The lady bought it at an auction for her 8 year old
>>son to practice on. I advised her and her husband to not let their son
>>practice on this piano. It could ruin his sense of pitch. The piano has
>>only a partial plate coming up only to the bottom of the pin block.
>>Question: if it were restrung what is the feasibility that it could be
>>tuned to A-440? The pin block has some large bolts going in at the top
>>but they don't go all the way through to the back side. The overall
>>design resembles a German birdcage but it is not that. It is overstrung
>>with underdampers like modern pianos. But the action comes out like a
>>birdcage piano. Any thoughts and opinions appreciated.
>>
>>Martin Wisenbaker, RPT
>>Houston, Texas
>
>
>