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The soundboard WILL have had a crown and it is easy to ascertain if it's still there.One by measuring it and two by hearing it.

I tuned one last week(Gors and Kallman ) in the wilds of Scotland and it is the most astounding tone and depth I've heard for a long time. I(I've been at it 60 years!)
I'm doing another tomorrow that we supplied
good hunting

I agree that tuning down to set the pins is more complicated than I said but as this is the Advice Forum and not the Technical one we can't go into finer detail. When rxd says setting the pin is "instinctual" I would go further and say psychological- metaphysical almost. Don't switch off ....

A large part of tuning well is the manipulation of the tuning lever and the correct setting of the wrest pins. If your etd tells you that the note is correct then you have to set the string. That will entail your raising the pitch a bit to drop into set. The etd only tells you what your ear can hear.

Hire a tuner who is experienced in dealing with the manifold vagaries encountered in tuning.

Hire a tuner who is experienced in dealing with the manifold vagaries encountered in tuning.

To pay a "high price" to a tuner may save you Hundreds(Thousands?) of pounds( depending on your currency) in the long run.
It will be a wise precaution to take.

To pay a "high price" to a tuner may save you Hundreds(Thousands?) of pounds( depending on your currency) in the long run.
It will be a wise precaution to take.

I can disencobulate a joanna in 15 mins. Frame if present to re-cycling.wood to stove, long hinges,locks pedals to join the hundreds we already have. Keys with celluloid tops make excellent firelighters

However, I hope someone knowlagable person puts an eye over the condemned pianos.

Shreibers were made by Barratt and Robinson and the defective plastic key bushings can be carefully removed and replaced with conventional bushing cloth.
It depends on the condition of the whole piano whether this is worth doing.

sense reigns.

why not get a set of second hand ebony tops.?
Even get yourself an ancient piano fit for the dump and you will probably find it has ebony sharps

You will always get a U3 from a monkey dealer for peanuts who is about to go broke but look to your after sales service and warranty.

All this advice presupposes that the problem has been accurately diagnosed,preferably by a technician.

Re-cover the damper felts and most important replace the damper springs with the correct strength springs and all your troubles will cease.
This is not a very expensive repair

to discover if the lid of your piano is veneered or solid,remove the long brass hinge and scrape the socket.Yo will then clearly see what it is made of.. Only older quality pianos were solid. We are just french polishing a 1909 bechstein B grand that has a beautiful solid mahogany top.

Barrie
I've learned something today!

LOVELY POST FROM cHRIS v

On no piano should the keybed go up and down while playing. Come on as they say nowadays.

1)In British Contract Law the retailer is the person responsible for the sale and it is to them that one applies, not the wholesaler. It is up to the retailer to negotiate any recompense with his supplier subsequently. On a personal/business level, reputable retailers will respond favourably to any ...

I put 5 Knight K10s in Canterbury Choir School after extensive trial by the organist, Dr Alan Wicks.

I was wondering if there is a whole new technology that has passed me by. Just checking. Thanks for all your detailed posts.

Looks very encouraging.
I was intrigued that you reported the dampers about to fitted and the keys being aligned..
In Finishing, the dampers are the first job and the key alignment last-7 hours later.
Just wondering.

The piano on the shop floor is the one you have tried and approved. The analogy with cars is false. Nobody has taken this out for a spin at 100 miles an hour down the motorway nor has the finish been scuffed. Pianos are hand finished even now and the next K3 could differ in detail. Go for the one yo...

Obvious good advice. Pay a technician to look at it. If it's got good tight pins, is not too worn, an old K10 @ £425 should play on for years. BUT, get someone knowledgable to look at it.It won't be perfect but could be perfectly serviceable without frills. Paying £70 or so for expert advice could s...

Not Inverness I can tell you!

Get a good part exchange

How far north?

Kawais will give you a list of us approved dealers

You'll have to get out your old glue pot, stoke it up and melt a few rabbit skins and you will be back in business I knew this new fangled stuff from the 1940s would never catch on -- or stick. It might be all right for building Mosquito fighter bombers but not proper pianos. This younger generation...

Whoopee!
Phone up any of us Kawai agents and you will get a good deal.
You won't get better than a K3
Failing your finding a dealer,Kawais will direct you to your nearest dealer. If he can't satisfy you, shop around all us other dealers.

Guy Fawkes

iF you have £3000 look at the Kawai K15 or even better the K2

Try not to use your compressor in someone's front room

Gill--no but I can dream. btw, some of us dealers are also techs and tuners and like to think that the price we charge reflects; the condition of the piano both technically and cosmetically,that it will do a good job of what's required of it,that it won't cause the customer and us any problems in th...

Gill
I love your analogies

I concur with Barrie's and Colin's advice. Take a tuner to inspect a second-hand piano. BUT never a teacher! They are generally non technical ( we have plenty of exceptions here tho) but often are uncomfortable at being asked to judge a piano from technical ignorance.. Also, they generally feel cons...

any pics. Can't envisage the K20 with legs. There were some different designs I remember

queer pianos must be a very niche market

I fully recommend the kawai K series both from a commercial and technical position. They arrive in the shop well regulated and obviously have had much attention to the tuning.Thus we have to spend very little time preparing them for sale.The Millenium action is a delight and well proved. We have sol...

for the sake of accuracy the legend will read "

"Ehrendiplom Wien 1873 Sciedmeyer u Soehne (maybe umlauts) Gegrundet 1809"

meaning " Honourarydiploma Vienna 1873 Schiedmayer and Sons founded 1809!

yes checks not dampers. It's not your spell checker. Must be that blasted Glenfiddich.

I'm talking about when the action is on the regulating bench. As you know one of the last jobs in regulating is aligning the checks. So one of my first jobs is to bend them well clear so the cannot influence the subsequent adjustments. A check just touching a hammer or a check touching the next hamm...

eg on the uprights the action pillars are a dead copy of Bechstein.
I haven't got one at present

George Rogers made excellent pianos and were called the " English Bechstein" for some reason, mainly because they pinched several minor features of the actions.
Your tuner will fix any minor disencobulations due to it's move/
dinna fass!

looks like a very common model B about early 20th century.
Need lots more information tho
You must get a technician to look at it as otherwise everything is supposition on our oarts,

Go to a reputable established piano shop that has it's own workshop and tuning facilities They will let you try out their stock in private so you don't have to be nervous. They will answer any technical questions you raise. You will be given it's history as far as known,it's age etc. All should be o...

In the 50s and 60s when we used to "modernise" pianos we used a variety of transfer names when the old one came off with the stripper. There was a selection available from the piano parts suppliers,one of which was Steinmetz. However,as the pedigree of the poster's piano goes back to 1905,...

Don't forget,before starting grand reg,bend all the dampers back out of the way so they don't give you false responses.
5 minute job to reg them at the end with checkbende rand and old fashioned germans

I read it as" Preuss" short for Preussicher ie Royal Prussian- Hein?
Perhaps we can have the words sent clearer.

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