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PianoGuy

The beat you mention may be the identifiable difference between the ear and computer tuning, for if you play two notes together then the beat (or partials) may not be harmonious and would cause 'discordance?'. This would be detectable by the ear but the computer would indicate that the two frequenc...

PianoGuy

I can see what you're doing is commendable, but any tuner will tell you that it takes many years of practice to develop control of a tuning crank in order to achieve stable tuning. Hearing is but a part of the process. I note from your earlier post that you are developing this software to "bene...

PianoGuy

As far as I am aware, Alfred Knight always worked out of Loughton, Essex, some distance from Llanelli. That Welsh town was the home of the long defunct British Piano Actions Ltd, (BPA) who once provided actions (of average quality, most technicians rate the Schwander or Langer as being better) for m...

PianoGuy

The 'work-in-progress' from the Whelpdale factory was evidently all purchased by a small independent firm of piano restorers. They also were granted permission by the current owners of the Welmar, Knight and Bentley trademarks to apply these names to the relevant instruments. I think they bought a l...

PianoGuy

I was planning to sell my piano on Ebay, are you suggesting that I'd be better off selling it somewhere else instead? Er.... No. I think anybody who *buys* a piano from eBay is stupid, but don't worry. There are plenty of stupid people around, millions of whom have never heard of this forum anyway ...

PianoGuy

This is a common fault on the 950. Replacement keys are available from Yamaha for about GBP 4.15+VAT. The Yamaha Electronic Keyboard Spares Dept. will oblige, and they're not difficult to fit. A real piano is available from the same manufacturer for around 2K. These actually sound better, last longe...

PianoGuy

I have always maitained that eBay is a risky way to buy a piano. Furthermore, it never ceases to amaze me what descriptions people stick on their pianos on this site. The vendor of item number 7341427856 unceasingly provides vast septic-tank loads of verbal diarrhoea on all of his listings which has...

PianoGuy

Let's hope he makes a better job of them than Bentley's did. I wonder if he's addressed the crap string spacing and the tendency for the Bentley 42 back's strings to snap without warning.

There is one on eBay at the moment and the BIN price is not cheap.

PianoGuy

Hmmmmm......! You'll be lucky! The only reason that a Bluthner Overdamper actually damps is that each one of its great big long damper heads is weighted with a veritable church roof full o'lead. These massive structures have to be lifted out of the way by your delicate little dandies before they com...

PianoGuy

It's a series number. To be 20 years old, the serial number should be H3988000 or above. Other prefixes *can*, but not always, indicate factory or country of origin: U= USA Michigan E= UK C= China J= Indonesia T= USA Georgia Don't be confused by the occasional series prefix J on a G-series grand. Th...

PianoGuy

The flat wood panelling does the same thing as the mesh, ie it keeps insects out... Except in this case, being solid, it'll probably keep the sound in too!

PianoGuy

That key construction was common for school pianos (so the little darlings couldn't pull the ivories off) and for 'tropicalised' pianos exported to humid countries. I expect there's a mesh grille under the keyboard and across the back to discourage nesting moth and termites too. As an aside, I fail ...

PianoGuy

I was only being facetious, Bill!

Although a Broadwood employee I once spoke to about 30 years ago hinted that this was possibly the fate of most Royal pianos!

PG

PianoGuy

Not as successful as their uprights IMHO....

Still a kind of barless construction, but an ungainly design in both appearance and tonality. Generally underpowered and false sounding.

PG

PianoGuy

Almost certainly trashed.

Royal pianos follow a cycle of demotion from Buck House or Windsor, thru other London houses, Balmoral, then the last stop is the Royal Yacht.

All the old stuff ends up there.

I reckon they chuck 'em over the side when finished with!

PG

PianoGuy

A beautiful post, A440!

Perfectly summed up I'd say!

PG

PianoGuy

If the U1 is a genuine one owner piano originally sold in your home market, and is truly immaculate, I'd go for that over the Kawai.

There is a thread Here which may be relevant

Regards

PG

PianoGuy

Sure it's not Arthur ALLISON ?

If it is, you need to check that serial, because it suggests 1878 or so, predating the decal!

PG

PianoGuy

I think there are more similarities between Kembles and Kemble built Yamahas than between Kemble built Yamahas and their Japanese counterparts. They are all pretty dam' good, and there is simply no argument for stocking Kemble and deriding Yamaha. Your dealer was probably relieved that you didn't pr...

PianoGuy

A440 wrote: Whose FAULT is it? Everyone is so upset someone must be at fault.

.......

Or is it the buyers who want rock bottom prices with no thought for the future.

They are certainly not blameless....

PG

PianoGuy

1965-66 ish. It's an old piano now, and most dealers in s/h Yamahas will sell a 1985 model (some twenty years younger than yours) for about GBP2500 give or take a few hundred. If yours is old enough to have the huge YAMAHA badge on the right hand side of the top door instead of just the one on the f...

PianoGuy

This well orchestrated feeding frenzy is the best way to unload goods. The nettys are safe for a while (god bless em). No, not really the best way to unload anything except small portable electronics which can be shipped back to the buggers for repair. The aforementioned Kawai pianos are generally ...

PianoGuy

Exactly....

And how long do you think it will be before Yamaha realise that they can dispense with their dealers altogether and sell from a net-shop?

Discounting netty dealers beware. Your days could be numbered.

PianoGuy

Out of interest, would you be interested in an open university style postal course? There is one in the states (Randy Potter!). I wonder if it would work here? I know someone in the UK who has studied that course, and after a lot of hard work and supervision in a local piano restorer's workshop, he...

PianoGuy

eBay?

Schmeebay.

Leave that site well alone.

Don't but a piano, old or new, over the web.

PG

PianoGuy

Try a Yamaha C3.

The C3 is quite simply the best balance between price and performance of any piano in the world, even without the quote frankly bloody stupid discounts offered by Yamaha dealers.

PG

PianoGuy

Those hammer felts are a real pain.

The MiniRoyal was reasonably foul all round. I blame it alone for Pricess Margaret's un-Royal behaviour in later life. In any case, why not buy a piano that looks like a piano rather than a reject Hammond organ?............

PeeGeeX

PianoGuy

Gosh a hoo-harr, I just love hoo-harrs. Me too, A440!! I still note with interest that Vale Pianos haven't supplied any answer at all, let alone a valid one as to why they stock Kemble, but think Yamaha have a "poor tone". I think it's more likely that it's damned difficult to be a Yamaha...

PianoGuy

Granted, but the surface area of a hammer contacting with a string is sufficiently large to cover that point (and a bit either side!), the hammer being made of felt and constructed so that it's highly elastic, yet sufficiently resilient. As the hammer becomes worn and grooved, more partials are supp...

PianoGuy

Hi, Thanks for all the interesting responses. I'm not sure I really buy the partials answer. For the hammers to strike on the nodes of the partials would require exquisite accuracy which you just couldn't get in a piano action. And missing by a fraction would produce a worse sound. Buy the partials...

PianoGuy

A440 wrote:Just run 10.000 volts through the baby, that should keep them off.

Way to go!!

PGx

PianoGuy

Hammer action is a semi passable copy of the weight and mechanical sensation of playing a piano keyboard.

"Semi Weighted" is crap.

Hope this helps

PianoGuy

Can anyone tell me when this was built & if the King of Spain seal has any added value or uniqueness? Thanks in advance for any replies! :) 1922. As for the Royal Spanish thing, they all had that! Should be a nice piano, and approaching the company's "Golden Era" which was around 1927...

PianoGuy

I think they're from Intermusic and often branded "Rikter". They're Chinese and the PDP200 portable is the only one I've met in the flesh. It suffers from flimsy build quality, but has a half decent tone and spec given the price. A common fault is a slight kinking of the top panel where th...

PianoGuy

.... We're all waiting...

We can wait all day if necessary!..............

PG

PianoGuy

Ha ha ha ha!! What a canny dealer! Whilst it's true that Yamaha make a few of their cheaper pianos in the Pearl River factory, and quality is fine, it's not true to say that all instruments are as good as Yamahas. It's all about a little thing called "design". Pearl River products are gene...

PianoGuy

Anyways thanks for setting my mind at rest re: the CHIPP cabinet. I shall go for it, since as you said the Yamahas are quite old, and it is not recommendable to invest in a pre-1975 yamaha. Well, there's nothing wrong with them, it's just that the later ones post 4 million are better. They also usu...

PianoGuy

Ah! Malta! ... lovely! Give my regards to the Qui Si Sana! I can see why you like the Chippendale cabinet. This style is so very similar to the French Provincial style which is highly popular in Southern Italy, Sicily and the Med. My comments re saleability of cabinet can be ignored! As for the U2 m...

PianoGuy

What currency is that? The Weinbach 114l is a very decent piano, but the Chippendale cabinet is a real shocker. It has ugly and unnecessary bits stuck on it. Are you sure you like it? If you do, then ask yourself will anybody else like it when you come to sell it?* If you are talking GBP1500, then y...

PianoGuy

It was common practice for small piano makers to put the name of the maker where they trained on their name transfer if it would appear to add kudos to the product, a bit like a tuner these days may namedrop Bluthners or Steinway's. In the case of Broadwood, they would even allow the ex employee to ...

PianoGuy

They're always coming up on eBay, so take your pick. Go for a round-topped one rather than the later flat top, especially if you're buying a Suitcase version. The Suitcase models have vibrato and their own amplifier and speakers, but they're cumbersome. Later Suitcases are identifiable by slider con...

PianoGuy

I have just purchased this 1990 piano and am very pleased with it.I t was bought from a shop However I am intrigued as to why the name "Knight" appears to have been removed from the piano keyboard leaving the shape of the name behind.The word "London" is in perfect condition at ...

PianoGuy

How come this reply is before the question?

Are we time traveling again, Doctor?

PianoGuy

Sure it's not an Ernst KAPS? A famous old maker from Dresden.

Knapp was an American maker, so Brahms was less likely to have played one of those, and I'm not sure that there was an Ernst connected with that company.

Guy of the Piano....

PianoGuy

Actually Herrburger did make hammers well they did back in the 70s when I visited, production may have stopped after that. However, unlike Renner they did not make hammers to pattern for tuners they only made them for their own actions. One thing Herrburger were good at was supplying actions for re...

PianoGuy

Nobody seems to have mentioned that the tone on Kawai pianos is far superior to Yamaha, I say that as a piano tuner of 22 years standing and having had the opportunity to compare at many trade shows. I have been asked by Yamaha on several occasions to stock their pianos but have refused because of ...

PianoGuy

The firms of J.Herrburger in Paris, and later Herrburger-Brooks, London, then Long-Eaton Nottingham were the companies which produced the Schwander action. As part of the diversification mentioned by Barrie in the previous post, Renner made hammer heads, which is one part of the action that Herrburg...

PianoGuy

The two work in the same way, it's an issue of quality. The Renner is usually, but not always of higher quality. The Schwander fitted to a Welmar shold be quite a good example of the marque.

Have you seen http://www.uk-piano.org/piano-forums/piano1826.html ?

P.Guy

PianoGuy

You've been given very duff advice! The current C range has many technical improvements over the G range. There's nothing wrong with the G range pianos, but the Cs will have duplex scaling, Ivorite Keys and a better action for a start. The build quality of the latest Japanese instruments is better t...

PianoGuy

"Beverley Model" was one of a series of transfers a dealer could purchase to smarten up a repoished piano. Most found their way onto modernised pianos in the '50s (these identifiable by rounded-off corners and panelled-over top doors). Other names available included "Vyner Model"...

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eBay

Re: Nettys days numbered

Re: MIT courses

Re: Hoo-harr(?)

Re: security

Re: Chappell Upright, How old & Is this a Special one?

Nice piano, shame about the legs....

Now, now!!

Re: knight york piano

Re: Kawai Pianos