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dancarney

£2100 in 1971adjusted for inflation, would be (today) £25,500. Wow!

dancarney

Our new Steinways came with an owners book, with space for the tuner to complete the service/tuning history (similar to what you get with a car).

Joe, I don't think the current RCS tuner (formerly RSAMD) is Polish.

dancarney

Your humidity levels are fine, don't worry. Your piano will be happy at your current levels.

dancarney

A few years ago, In Acton, London, I watched a Steinway tech guy weighing new dampers down & embedding them on the strings with heavy small bean bags - and a mirror was there behind.... but I didnt see the regulation or fine adjustments later. However, Kawai were very fussy - little special gauges ...

dancarney

I tuned a Kemble Minx this afternoon. This one has been kept in ideal conditions and doesn't suffer from sluggish keys/action parts. The hammers were a little worn, but not too bad. It was a little flat, but came up to pitch nicely and tuned as well as can be expected. Sounded pleasantly 'quaint' wh...

dancarney

Your best bet is to ask your tuner to check the regulation.

He/she may be able to check the actual touch weight. It might be also an idea to contact the place of purchase to make them aware of the problem; they may offer a solution (as it's only 12 months old).

dancarney

Was it the final of the BBC Young Musician? Piano didn't sound great, tuning fell apart quite rapidly...

dancarney

Very suspect about the M&H connection. Modern Bentley pianos are Chinese. As far as I know, M&H now use iron plates from China, and perhaps they share the same plate manufacturer. That's the only link I can see. Many dealers make all kinds of crap up; judge the instrument by its own qualities, make ...

dancarney

The U series is a very good choice for students/teachers/professionals. I help maintain around 70 Yamaha U3s that average around 6/7 hours of heavy use per day; they really do hold up very well! Gromit, if it's too 'forward' sounding, ask your tuner about voicing it to your taste. He should be able ...

dancarney

I hope the PE upgrades are huge. I've tuned three Bostons (pre-PE) and they have such a mushy-feeling wrest plank. Meant new GP-range of grand pianos they are a dwaddle to tune,and hold well.Kawais improvement is due to Steinway intervention in their manufacturing process back in 1992 and has taken...

dancarney

Yes, I liken it to a 'dull thud' of a tone. Cheap feel to it...

dancarney

I hope the PE upgrades are huge. I've tuned three Bostons (pre-PE) and they have such a mushy-feeling wrest plank.

dancarney

It could be that the string is 'false' - i.e. has a beat (ringing) of its own. Or just a bad string. Voicing is to some extent down to personal taste. Essentially, the various sections of the piano; bass, tenor, treble, etc. should sonically relate to each other; and all notes within a section shoul...

dancarney

Did the delivery go smoothly?

dancarney

Gromit, I have it on good 'word' that you're the very same Gromit that frequents the place some affectionately call 'The Wam'. I also have a feeling that we may have exhibited at the same Pie show. Small world!

dancarney

I'm puzzled too. Come on Colin, help us fill in the blanks!!

dancarney

Enjoy!

dancarney

He/she had a 3 foot concert grand advertised recently. Bet it sounded like 5H1T!

dancarney

I've only ever played on three Samick pianos, and all three were very good. Could be a good bet!

dancarney

If you shop around, you can find mid-to-late 1980s Yamaha U1 for under £3K.

I've sent you a PM to help with your search.

dancarney

A semitone sharp seems to be a bit too much, even in the circumstances described.

Are you sure that the section you're comparing the said 16 with aren't a semitone flat?!

dancarney

Unacceptable. Call him back out to fix the 16 problem notes.

dancarney

There is also a really odd beat created with the final descending arpeggio.

dancarney

Makes for some interesting reading:

http://www.eunomios.org/contrib/francis1/francis1.html

dancarney

Gill the Piano wrote:
Colin Nicholson wrote: Stick to the one tuner - good policy.

I have a customer who alternates me with another local tuner. She likes to 'spread the business around'. Never mind us poor souls who have to change eachother's scale each time - no 2 tuners tune exactly alike.

So who's right, then??

dancarney

Johnkie wrote:
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

dancarney

Add Kawai K2, or perhaps you could find a good deal on a K3.

dancarney

We haven't evolved much, but fingering definitely has. Compare Chopin Paderewski edition vs. Chopin Ekier edition.

dancarney

This is an excerpt from one of my University essays (Topic: From piano or organ to harpsichord: discuss the essential elements of both technique and style in the development of an apprentice harpsichordist). Some may find it of interest as it touches on some previous comments. ‘ABRSM’ convention of,...

dancarney

Yes please Colin

dancarney

If it were my piano, I'd leave the pitch. It'll come down eventually.

dancarney

I think you're slightly mistaken... 100 cents = semi-tone (so 180 is almost a tone sharp). If that was the case, your A49 would be close to 480Hz!! Can you confirm your calculation? I calculate that 444Hz is around 15.6 cents sharp. (Btw, 444 KHz as you say, would be impossible. It would be nearly 1...

dancarney

A440,

Very good post; I like the descriptions very much.

I still, however, attest that I can detect colour in different keys, even in ET.

dancarney

A440, Have you ever seen pianists approach different keys in such a way that their touch 'adds' to the identity of the key? If all keys sounded the same, they wouldn't bother, surely. Even in ET keys to me, and many other musicians, have identity. As Colin points out, Moonlight Sonata in c sounded b...

dancarney

Quote - 'B flat major sounds no more triumphant than B major because all colour has been removed... ' This very much depends on who's playing (and who's listening). I fully understand how ET works, and yes, on paper, all colour should be removed. This is not the case in practise. Do you really think...

dancarney

No real reason? Bollocks! Will Chopin's B-minor sonata sound the same in a different key? No. Will Busoni's Chaconne sound the same in a different key? No. I could go on... Imagine listening to a whole recital/concert with entire programmes in C/c... Wow, that'd be bland. Composers decide on a speci...

dancarney

Why not play the music in the key that the composer wanted?

dancarney

I have the Liszt arrangement of the Lacrimosa, and the Confutatis (not easy, but good).

dancarney

Don't put your thumb on a black-note 'rule' really only applies to scales, in my opinion.

dancarney

Yes, EACH piano will feel different; grand vs grand, or upright vs grand.

It's impossible to give an empirical answer to 'What difference of movement in centimetres would I notice in finger movements'.

Why not discuss this with your piano teacher? Or simply try a variety of pianos?

dancarney

ET = equal temperament UT = unequal temperament An UT can be tuned easily by tuners who use an electronic tuning device (ETD). However, there are lots of UTs to choose from; they all have different characteristics. I wouldn't envisage it costing more, especially if he/she used an ETD. The only way t...

dancarney

Gill, why would a 'perfect scale' sound most odd?

dancarney

Take a look at a Barenreiter Urtext, should be the most impartial, editorially. Listening-wise, probably can't go wrong with Alfred Brendel. Usually plays like an Urtext!

dancarney

Quote:

"Plants maintain humidity levels indoors at a range of 40 to 60 percent which is optimum for humans and plants".

Seems like suitable parameters. I think I may experiment at home...

dancarney

http://www.plantscapes-officeplants.co. ... midity.asp

&

http://www.earthcouncil.net/freshair.htm
(scroll down to humidity).

dancarney

Perhaps, Barrie.

However, what they do IS regulate the humidity, if kept watered. That's the aim, within reason.

dancarney

Hahahaha!

'In an English country garden' springs to mind!

dancarney

Sound advice from Colin. A bit sharp is always better than a bit flat! I recently chatted about Damp Chasers with my mentor, and he advises that they aren't any better than using small house plants. Watering it regularly will maintain a fairly constant level of humidity, and if you suffer from too m...

dancarney

WHO is this? The description is utterly nonsensical. And the playing... Offensive.

I've spotted ads by this person before; they've been of a similar shocking nature.

Come on, 'fess up!