12c is a negligible amount. If they were going to break, they would have broken, even the amount you did raise them. I would have taken it up the full amount, to A440. John Ross, Windsor, Nova Scotia On 19-Mar-10, at 2:04 PM, Rob McCall wrote: > Sorry for the lack of information, guys (and gals)... I was up late > as I had just finished playing piano for a "Cats" production at a > nearby HS for the 9th time in the last 8 days! After tonight and > tomorrow's last two shows, life will get back to normal, whatever > that is... :-) > > First of all, I tuned it flat for two reasons. For starters, the > client wanted to spend as little as possible to get it sounding and > looking nice. Given the condition of the strings, in all their > gunmetal grey glory, I feared some strings might break if I brought > it right up to A440. That adds a cost that she didn't want to > spend, and I felt it might make it more difficult for her to sell > the piano if several strings were all shiny and new while others > weren't. I know some potential buyer would ask about them and then > worry if they're all going to break. Second, by attempting to > stabilize it at a lower pitch I was avoiding the pitch raise, as > well. And no, I didn't charge her half, in fact I didn't charge her > for the pitch raise at all, just for the tuning. > > All the keys play equally and the action probably needs some > regulation, but overall it plays very much as I would expect, in my > experience of having played lots of pianos in the last 40+ years. I > didn't pull the action this time, but I will be doing that next week > during the deep cleaning that she wanted, which, when she realized I > wasn't charging her for the pitch raise, she seemed a lot more > trusting of me and invited me back to do the cleaning. ;-) As I > learned just in the last few days, you can make just as much with a > vacuum as you can with a tuning hammer. :-) > > However, from what I was able to view, the hammers were actually in > very good shape. There was very little "wear" pattern in the strike > point of the hammers, and the hammer line at rest was nearly a > straight line and within an appropriate blow distance. A few samples > of let-off and drop appeared very close to where I would want them > to be. Damper felt condition was very good, too. > > Tuning pin torque, although not measured with a torque wrench, was > well within what I would expect. They moved precisely with a light- > moderate effort and they stayed where I put them. Maybe 2-3 total > out of the entire group felt a little too easy and might benefit > from some C/A work. All in all, I really enjoyed the feeling that > the tuning pins had. I realize that it's subjective, but in my > limited experience, the tuning pins felt pretty close to where I > would want them to be. The only drawback is that the beckets didn't > all line up... :-) > > So for me, the main problems are the strings and the dirt (oh, and > the lyre repair). The case is in great shape, the action appears to > be fully functional and within very playable tolerances. Given the > condition of the piano and the budget of a single mom with 4 kids, > my choice was the lower pitch and to recommend a really good > cleaning, evening if it is only eye-candy for the unsuspecting. :-) > > Regards, > > Rob McCall > > McCall Piano Service, LLC > www.mccallpiano.com > Murrieta, CA > 951-698-1875 > > > > On Mar 19, 2010, at 07:19 , Mike Spalding wrote: > >> Paul and Terry and Rob, >> >> Rob gave no information whatsoever about pin torque (although it >> "tuned nicely") or the condition of the action. If one assumes the >> worst, then Terry's assessment is right on. If one assumes the >> best, then Paul's is correct. I would point out that in my limited >> experience, there are a large number of piano owners and >> "rebuilders" for whom external appearance is the main priority. >> Tell me you've never seen an attractively refinished small grand >> with freshly filed hammers, otherwise all original action parts >> badly worn, sometimes regulated and sometimes not. Anyway, Rob, to >> help you with a valuation we really need to know more about the >> instrument (as opposed to case cosmetics). >
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