Bechstein curry

tuna · Post by **tuna** » 12 Sep 2006, 23:46

Was just curious..... I've been tuning pianos for about 17 years, and have noticed old ebonised Bechsteins, upright and grand, always have a smell of curry? Especially when you open the half top of an upright.

Does anyone know what gives them their characteristic smell?
I'm guessing it could be to do with the polish used, or perhaps some sort of wood preservative?

Cheers!

PianoGuy · Post by **PianoGuy** » 13 Sep 2006, 08:07

You know Tuna, I've mentioned this to hundreds of people and they look at me weird. I agree. They smell of curry, but not just any curry,

They smell like a cheap Vesta Meal-For-One dehydrated curry of the type thankfully no longer sold. With 'chopped and shaped beef'.

No idea why it's just the ebonized ones, but knowing a bit about Helene Bechstein's foul links with the Führer ( despite an obvious Jewish heritage in the name 'Bechstein') maybe it was a racist idea to convince the public that black things were nasty and smelt of curry; a ploy of which whch the BNP are still fond?

Who knows?

Post by **Gill the Piano** » 13 Sep 2006, 17:48

Thank God you said it; I've thought it for years and just put it down to a combination of bad sinuses, a dislike of Bechstein uprights of a certain age (which, now you mention it are usually ebonised) and incipient lunacy. Excuse me, I must go and cancel the men in white coats...

Post by **Barrie Heaton** » 13 Sep 2006, 19:12

PianoGuy wrote: They smell like a cheap Vesta Meal-For-One dehydrated curry of the type thankfully no longer sold. With 'chopped and shaped beef'.

Not seen Vesta currys since the 60-70s my dad lived on them

Barrie,

PianoGuy · Post by **PianoGuy** » 13 Sep 2006, 20:58

Not seen them since about then either... My goodness I feel old!

They were a terrible post-colonial idea of what curry should be- served with a sachet of dried coconut or raisins- all packed into a cardboard box which probably offered more nutrition than the curry. As a teenager I thought they were sophisticated, especially when washed down with a glass of Trophy or somesuch awful keg ale.

Yeuch. Kids have never had taste.

Post by **Barrie Heaton** » 13 Sep 2006, 21:18

PianoGuy wrote:all packed into a cardboard box which probably offered more nutrition than the curry.

I bet if they were sold today they would have that many E numbers on them there would be no room for the Ad

Now there nostalgia for you the 8 pint party tins of Trophy

Barrie,

David B · Post by **David B** » 14 Sep 2006, 08:59

Fear not, my friends

The Vesta curry is alive and well

http://www.britishcornershop.co.uk/brit ... ?id=IF0057

Now who would like to enter the great scratch and sniff Bechstein experiment?

Geminoz · Post by **Geminoz** » 14 Sep 2006, 13:33

Well....that just goes to show.....you're not always as crazy as you think you are

There you were 3 talented piano tuners thinking you were hallucinating an aroma (hmmm... can you hallucinate an aroma?).
Maybe during the construction of the piano the workers kept their curry inside the piano till it was time for lunch.

PianoGuy · Post by **PianoGuy** » 14 Sep 2006, 14:29

David B wrote:Fear not, my friends The Vesta curry is alive and well

http://www.britishcornershop.co.uk/brit ... ?id=IF0057

heavens preserve us!

sussexpianos · Post by **sussexpianos** » 16 Sep 2006, 11:16

Hi all. OK, The smell is more likely to be the old Lindseed oil used when polishing high finishes like black and instead of coming out of the polish,has traveled through the wood and makes the inside smell of seed oil which smells like the oils used in curry. Add the fact they used fruit wood like pear and cherry for the cases,cherry is a very oily wood.
Coconut oil is sometimes used in polishing as well, but lindseed oil is better.
now, pass the naan bread!!