UK Piano Page Piano Forum

Johnkie

Again, I have to ask why anyone wants to come onto a PIANO HISTORY page if they are not interested in PIANO HISTORY? If we are going to scrap everything in the world that does not conform to modern specifications, there will be no history, and no museums. Every day, people around the world contact ...

Johnkie

I would be very loathed to recommend buying this unless your intention is to have it as a piece of furniture rather than a serviceable instrument. While it looks reasonably attractive it does flag up a few issues that would cause me to have serious doubts about its viability. 1. It has oblong tuning...

Johnkie

I've seen this on quite a few models, not just Hopkinson. I normally just clamp the two parts into the correct position, and then drill through from the bottom using a sixteenth drill bit. Then release the clamp, apply glue, and simply screw both parts together. I generally have everything to hand i...

Johnkie

If you take a look at the hammer noses ( viewed looking from the front, not directly from above), do the string grooves look pretty much even across the felt? If not, and the left unison is barely coming into contact with the hammer nose, then sure, there is a problem with spacing. If though, the gr...

Johnkie

Have weighed it Bill - 55gm. Hope that helps. Regards John

Johnkie

Hi Bill - if you would care to send me a stamped addressed padded envelope I have one that you are welcome to.

John Phillips
47 Blackstone Court
Blaydon Burn
Gateshead
Tyne & Wear
NE21 4HH

Johnkie

Sadly I fear you have ruined the piano, and while in theory most things can be rectified, the cost in this case would not be justified.

Johnkie

Unless there is already a large centre hole in the base of the legs I would use caution if considering fitting the G726As. I seem to remember the tapered legs on Bechstein grands generally have the G727 square cup type. I don't suppose it matters much if you do not intend moving it about, but if you...

Johnkie

A few photos may give us a better idea of what may be going on. I seem to recall that on some eavestaff grands the soft pedal didn't slide the action .... it merely raised the hammers acting more like an upright half-blow.

Johnkie

Wow Vernon ..... you must have some very clever monkies in your part of the country. What grade do they reach ?

Johnkie

The serial number you quote would indicate that it was made around 1902 .... so it would appear either it's 110 years old or you have the incorrect serial number :wink: As far as its worth goes ........ there are too many things to take into consideration, and the only way to get a better idea would...

Johnkie

If the pin is any longer than 1/2 -3/4 inch then it is almost certainly a case where the pin has worked its way out. Sometimes the rubber grommet tends to grip the pin and pull it out if there has been too much free play. I little tap with a hammer on the pin will identify whether this is the case o...

Johnkie

Errr........ it may seem too obvious but .......... if the rod is wood pull the pin out and drill the hole a little deeper ( might it even just have started to work its way out - in which case, clout it back in ) .. or trim a little off and re-round it off.

Johnkie

Tim:

Seems to be a case of you already knowing pretty much all there is to know from the information you supplied.

Made by Kemble in 1948.

Johnkie

Could this not merely be a case where the removers have caught the pedals whilst moving and bent them .... normally upwards ? If so surely it's easy enough to staighten them out ... if not possible when cold,then heat them to "cherry red" before bending them back. I've done this many times...

Johnkie

Joseph:

Sounds about right .... and if you have confidence in your guy, I'd certainly consider having it done. It will be a great deal cheaper than buying a new replacement, and you'll have confidence in your piano again.

Johnkie

Joseph : It sounds very much like a case of needing a complete re-centre job! If some hammers and jacks are sticking badly, then the likelihood is that they are all on the tight side. The overall performance and touch will be seriously bad in comparison to what it should be, but you will not appreci...

Johnkie

When you say "blocking" do you mean the hammer hits the string and doesn't move away, until the key is released ? Or do you in fact mean that when you try to play repeated notes, the key goes down but the hammer doesn't move forward? There's quite a difference between these to examples - T...

Johnkie

How very strange ......... either the treble is where the bass should be ... or the photos were taken looking in a mirror !

Johnkie

Otto: Glad to hear that you have noticed improvement since cleaning the strings as recommended .... it's surprising what a huge difference some foreign matter on a string can make, and all to often it turns out to be somewhere that isn't easily spotted. As far as good damper regulation goes .... It ...

Johnkie

I agree with you Barry regarding being a candidate perhaps for the life saver system .... however in practice I find that in these kinds of situations i.e. schools .... rarely maintain these systems. Cleaners un-plug them, the water is just left to dry out etc etc. There seems to be much greater suc...

Johnkie

With the huge changes in both temperature and humidity that this piano is subjected too it will never be stable. Moreover, from what you say the enormous swings would cause a vast amount of tuning instability. I really do wish that these types of institutions would give just a little thought as to w...

Johnkie

I wouldn't bother Colin - You have just as much right to post on this forum as anyone else. Bill does tend to be a little on the grumpy side at times which to my mind is a great shame :roll: A PM to the original poster would have been much better, rather than having a go at you for merely trying to ...

Johnkie

Inspection window Colin

It's more like an "upright Grand lid" to amplify the sound. When ever I come across one of these I always wonder why they didn't motorise it to turn it into a Vox Humana

Johnkie

Cheers Otto .... I'm not so confused.com now

Johnkie

I'm getting quite confused here ! I was under the impression that the problem is where notes sound rather dead, not the quailty of damping as in zinging where the damper felt has hardened. What exactly was cleaned with the solution soaked cotton buds .... the damper felt or the strings ? :? confused...

Johnkie

I not sure how your problem can be linked to damper issues, if the dampers damp nicely (not ringing on). You said that you had a few dampers that were a bit sluggish, and I was under the impression that that's been sorted out. So are the dampers working correctly or not? Are they lifting approximate...

Johnkie

Clip-on tapes are not very good, but ok as has already been said "in an emergency". They are nearly always too long, but you can get around this by wrapping the tape one complete turn around the brass clip before cipping it on to the balance hammer. It's very fiddly to get it butted up to ...

Johnkie

sounds like it could be to do with something being split inside .... tight dampers rusty coloured strings that weren't rust ..... ? I have sometimes come across pianos with problems similar to this, and the deadness has been the direct result of something being spilt and travelled down the string to...

Johnkie

Wind up ? No ....it's all a direct result of differing string lengths. While the speaking lengths of each unison are the same. the overall lengths are completely different, resulting in each string being affected in a non equal way.

Johnkie

The simple answer is that we just don't know what the problems is and how to sort it out without being there ! It is all guess work and may well be any one of a number of things causing the problem. However, just because Colin takes the time and trouble to post more than just about anyone else here,...

Johnkie

From what I remember there are just two large screws situated at the back of the keybed that secure it to the metal frame. Undo those two screws and the whole keyboard simply drops down making the front perfectly flat with no sticky out keyboard bit ! They used to come from the manufacturers mounted...

Johnkie

Cheers Colin - Thanks for looking M8.

I have managed to find one single photo in the Web, any better examples would be good though.

Johnkie

I guess Bill came to mind straight away with this .... but does anyone have any photos showing the old style bass strings that used to be soldered on the first few millimetres of the copper winding. I'd really appreciate it if someone could find an example so that I could pass it on to others that h...

Johnkie

I used to tune a Hamburg C for the local 'lady Bountiful'. I happened to mention I had trouble building stability into the instrument and that it was going out of tune in a rather strange way. it was then she told me that there were two other tuners rotating tunings with me. I asked her politely to...

Johnkie

Colin Nicholson wrote:probably changed over when they invented the shepherd's crook

Exactly right Colin

I think you'll find it happened when the crooks were non-Extended Twist

Johnkie

I was thinking where exactly I should place this post - On the closed "Tuner/Technician" or "Advice" section. I'm becoming aware more and more of how some suppliers have no idea about the tuners that they either recommend or send out to tune their newly supplied pianos. Surely ev...

Johnkie

John made a very good job of things the other day - and almost got to spend longer with the piano... managed to help the car along on the ice & snow which fell rather suddenly during the tuning. As John says, the pins are rather close to the steel frame, so we'll have to see if things slip - bu...

Johnkie

Paid Robin a visit on Friday to look at his Bechstein Model IV upright, and thought there might be those interested in the outcome. Robin is a very nice guy, who clearly has a passion for all things technical (and a great Hi FI set up)!! Sadly, his Model IV is suffering from the dreaded loose wrest ...

Johnkie

Tell you what NEWAGE ...... I'll retire from tuning .... if you will give me the secret of how you got to look like that .... Silly me .... I see to have dribbled on my keyboard

Johnkie

Looking good NEWAGE ....... Love the santa hat

Johnkie

Looking good NEWAGE ....... Love the santa hat

Johnkie

Does an improvement in that part of the piano relate to the advice I read for players that when playing a trill the fingers only need to release the key half way and then play the note again? That would give young players a chance . In my experience Jonathan that is exactly the point of things. Bad...

Johnkie

[/quote] Withindale BTW all this kicked off when I asked Johnkie about jack slap rails on the American website. That created quite a stir. Many North American vertical pianos do not have slap rails, and in any case verticals and uprights can never repeat reliably, period. They work like Reblitz say...

Johnkie

Vernon is absolutely correct .... I've always called them the "marmite" pianos ..... you either love them or hate them. You never see them being used for concert work, because they simply can't be tuned any better than their worst false strings will allow. The thought of having my tuning e...

Johnkie

There's really no point in me adding anything to what my friends (I hope !) have already said Robin. It certainly looks the part, and nothing jumps out that I personally would have course to worry about, and if the tuning is a little sharp , that too is a good sign .... I imagine you are checking th...

Johnkie

I am in total agreement with you Gill .....it's horrible .....

Johnkie

If the person that tuned your piano is someone that you've used in the past, then I would get in touch and ask them nicely if they could perhaps pop back and have a look at things for you. Pianos do sometimes go out of tune quite quickly if humidity or temperature changes dramatically .... or indeed...

Johnkie

Another great post from Max! I've learnt such a great deal from his instructional videos. I've sold my : tuning levers - now use a socket set sets of O/S wrestpins - now use cardboard centre pins - now use oil papps and rubber wedges - now use a plectrum Oh ..... and thanks to an erudite trumpeter ....

Johnkie

There are clearly two points of view as to whether Max should be regarded as a cowboy or saint! Speaking as a person that has undergone 5 years training and a subsequent 41 years on the road, I have seen many terrible examples of "tuner / technicians" who have woken up one morning and sudd...

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