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chrisvenables

After a couple of seasons of exposure to central heating any reactions would probably be evident. Best to ask exactly what the 'guarantee' covers and get a copy of it in writing. Please pay for an independent technician to check the piano out before parting with your money.

chrisvenables

I will think about that, tho I have my doubts, as the frequency difference between the good and poor high notes is only about 200 HZ. I will check this with younger listeners. Lower 'break' notes and some poor notes in the middle register: This piano is only 18 months old. All problems have been ev...

chrisvenables

Seasoned for destination Hmm the Americas buy into that big time and yes pre 1970 Yamaha's did tend to fall to pieces when they came to the UK and they did alter their the humidity in the wood to about 4% which what the UK makers have done since ......! Yamaha would have to make 3 versions of each ...

chrisvenables

I agree with a lot of what Joe said, except the point regarding retro Chinese (there are one or two good ones out there). Second hand imports are usually 30 years old at least, been in a very humid environment, (hot steamy summers) and cold and damp in the winter (until recently in Japan most homes ...

chrisvenables

B & Q do a decent range of dehumidifiers - I've had a couple from them, very reliable and with a hygrostat setting. The piano at home hardly ever needs tuning and the humidifier has a dust filter which has cut Mrs V's housework by half.

chrisvenables

[/quote] Barrie said: The above is the most common for your problem and should be rectified by the shop. Its just poor set up in the first place. [/quote] Agreed, it may be poor set up in the first place, or it may be the piano settling in and adjusting. After spending a winter of central heating a...

chrisvenables

Every piano has flaws, when pressing individual notes you can hear the break, when making music not so much. Well said Patrick! Too many people become obsessed with analysing individual notes when they are never played like that in a piece of music. Every note sounds different. Sit back, relax, and...

chrisvenables

Is it ivory? The key tops may be celluloid or plastic - better check first, if so a spot of contact adhesive such as Evo stick would do. If they're ivory, first read Barrie's interesting post a while back on the search. The small square of soft green felt is cushion felt from the notch in the hammer...

chrisvenables

Hello quinie: Nice choice of piano! The piano isn't too big for the room - choose a particular piano which is nice and mellow to start with. If it sounds too loud when you get it home, then your tuner can mellow it down even more. In addition, you may need to deaden the acoustic of the room with car...

chrisvenables

Hi Terry: a. Many people comment on these top notes - one observation (with respect to you, and not necessarily your case!) is that as the human ear gets older it doesn't hear the high frequencies as clearly, so much so that eventually you hear only the 'thud' of the hammer hitting the string and no...

chrisvenables

Yes, the higher end Petrofs are certainly better than they were, no doubt about that. Those larger models do have and always did have a sweet tone - it's just that the earlier models didn't have the best of build quality and the very small uprights were indeed 'budget' models. Nice to see the improv...

chrisvenables

If it's F Dorner with the umlaut (") above the o it's made by Frederick Dorner & Sohn and serial no. is 4000 ish then it is a genuine maker from Stuttgart, made around 1880.

Doubt whether it's worth spending much money on anything that old.

chrisvenables

As Barrie and pintwister say, a little extra humidity can sharpen up the mid section. All pianos go sharp in the summer as indoor humidity levels rise. Strange though that this is happening at around 50% rh which is a very reasonable level. Is it a digital humidity gauge? If not, recalibrate it.

chrisvenables

DJ, thanks for the feedback.

chrisvenables

It probably wouldn't cost you any more to buy a 'Silent' piano than build and insulate a shed - a shed's not exactly the most pleasant and social environment in which to practise your Rach 3.

That way, you can play normal acoustic piano when the neighbours are out and go silent when they're in.

chrisvenables

Hi Cris, Longbow here. You sound like the townie who moved to the country then complained that the animals made to much noise. If you don't like the set up here ...........! I've always lived in the country. But I suspect you live, or at least work, in Camden Town. Just say who you are if you're no...

chrisvenables

Interesting comments. DJtoast: I've got all upright models on the floor at the moment, and obviously have my own views, but would welcome your feedback, (and PG's). It would be interesting to know why you chose the 125 over the 121 or 132. Any particular reason - tone, touch, dynamic range, price, s...

chrisvenables

Vernon - Sorry? Who's side are you on? 1.Why do you want me to keep out of this? 2. What makes you think this is a dealer of repute? 3. I don't care if you are 'less than chuffed if I phoned up to keep you right' whatever that means. 4. Crispin has a right to a professional reply. 5. Crispin has a r...

chrisvenables

So if it's no secret, why doesn't he say who he is? ? I think he's Hecksher himself. If he isn't, who is he? Pro's should be up front and say who they are. What's the problem in a professional saying who they are. Why do they want to hide behind an avatar?? The public have a right and a reason to be...

chrisvenables

You could ask Heckshers, the're usually very helpfull. To find them, go to piano parts in the left hand column on this page then click on supply houses to find them. You sound 'very helpful' as well longbow - are you a teacher or someone in the er, trade? Model V: Steve Cook at Fletchers supplies A...

chrisvenables

The photos are great! But maybe we're over-reacting to the problem and hypothesising about something which, as many of us have stated earlier,is common, in that most new pianos have tuning instability. So let's give the dealer and the tech another chance. Although I think the pics of Crispin's Bechs...

chrisvenables

Crispin: From the photo, apart from the very iffy design, it looks like the strings aren't even spaced properly! Definitely don't do anything to it yourself. Get the dealer or a tech from Bechstein to also check over the tightening of all bolts, space strings, tap down strings and retune. Then get t...

chrisvenables

I haven't seen your previous post, so I'm unsure as to how old the piano is. New pianos can take a good 12/18 months to settle - and may need 3 monthly tuning in the first year. The coils sound OK and the wire quality is unlikely to be the cause. You shouldn't need a humidifier in the summer - try a...

chrisvenables

the polyester finish used on just about every piano these days is rubbish. It scratches easily and even if you polish it lovingly with proper piano polish you still get whirl marks all over the bloody thing. But the worst thing is the fingerprints - every last one shows up. For that reason alone I'...

chrisvenables

[quote="PianoGuy"][quote There was a famous court case between that factory and author Laurie Lee who grew up nearby. In the first edition of "Cider With Rosie" he wrote , "The local piano factory was having its annual fire. It seemed to be their way of balancing the books&...

chrisvenables

Its serial number - 4161676, so I think thats around 1986 it was built. I bought it around a year ago from a piano dealer in London for £2,200, it was used condition, but they did a total makeover on it so to speak, meaning they obviuosly bought it in from Japan already used. It is fully restored w...

chrisvenables

Nice advert!

chrisvenables

Definitely spend you money on something else.

chrisvenables

I respect you points of view, Openwood and Descombes. Not that I want to detract from this excellent forum, as it has a certain intimacy which other forums don't have, but check out Piano World forum (based in the US) and their FAQ's and advice regarding how piano industry pros etc should name thems...

chrisvenables

No. I'd define a part-timer as one who has employment outside the piano trade, yet persists in selling pianos because they've picked up a bit of gen about it and think they can make a fast buck. You know the kind of thing: Petrol station attendant, shelf-stacker, mechanical engineer (they're the wo...

chrisvenables

Profit margin? What's that?

chrisvenables

A sad day indeed, especially for the 100 staff who lose their jobs. There's a lot to discuss in that press release, but my main concern apart from the job issue, is the guarantee question relating to the unique case parts and soundboards in UK built Kemble/Yamahas. Their remaining factories which su...

chrisvenables

This is great! Many thanks to Kemble King and Mr Joseph Fleetwood (I've heard he's pretty good on the ivories) in getting the ball rolling. It's a bit like being at an AA meeting (err, not that I have been) with people prepared to stand up and be counted - or St John the Baptist and the unwashed com...

chrisvenables

Just to set ther record straight, I didn't make the original quote about the 'chancers and partitime sellers' etc, I was quoting from Piano Guy's post.

chrisvenables

I'm so glad you agree - so what's you're professional name? I am sure both the pros and public would appreciate knowing your actual name and company name. I'm all for open-ness and civilised open discussions. I'm sure, based on your previous threads, that it sounds like you believe a good quality ne...

chrisvenables

A notice to ALL piano professionals, whether pianist, tuner,technician or dealer, (and I don't know why the moderator hasn't suggested this before now) If you are posting on the public forum, (and also on the trade forum) why not have the professional integrity of displaying your real name/trading n...

chrisvenables

And of course, it's the heavy discounting of genuine new UK Yam stock which has caused dealers who can't compete to look to these imports, some of which are atrocious high-milers. In turn this leads to chancers and part-timers selling them from front rooms, garages and dodgy industrial estate units...

chrisvenables

The moderator should issue a 'caviart' - no more fishy puns.

A tip if you're a piano tuna - continuous, loud, hard, tuning can damage your hearing. An ear nose and throat sturgeon told me that.

chrisvenables

From your description that does sound a bit Bosendorfer. You know, from the pics on the web, the frame looks slightly Bosendorfer too. What about the larger Brodmann pianos? How do they sound? I love my 187, are the larger grands as good at their price? (subjective question I know... I'm about to d...

chrisvenables

Yes at the quayside indeed. I've just been trawling through an absolute shoal of private messages - there's one from Carl Sauter - he said in spite of what I wrote, he doesn't harbour any grudge. No pier pressure either.

chrisvenables

Inside, vacuum wrapped, were a pair of the largest German kippers I've ever seen! Done up like a kipper in fact. P G; I don't think piano forum is the plaice for puns relating to aquatic vertebrates - Carp, sorry Carl Sauter had been fishing around UK dealers who had only been dab bling at selling ...

chrisvenables

As this piano was as important a purchase as a new car (of which I negotiated an extended warranty to 5 years), I also intend to have the piano maintained in accordance with the handbook, although I was surprised to see that whilst there is a section which allows for record keeping of all maintenan...

chrisvenables

Excellent comment Stuart. I thought my reply was so long it had gone well past its expiry date but, yes, acoustics play a major part in the selection process. I would also recommend customers to try the actual piano they buy - some who buy blind and find that they're unhappy with the tone blame it o...

chrisvenables

Dr Sebastian?

I import mine direct thanks, I think our well respected cousins in Scotland do too.

chrisvenables

Machines? We've got a 218, but we're not quite in Scotland. Rather a light action, not as powerful as I was expecting, but a good, true bass. Different character to the 162 and 178. It could almost be another brand rather than another model. More 'recital' than 'concert' more Boso than Steinway. The...

chrisvenables

Not many dealers will want to answer this one NewAge! Any dealer reply is just asking for trouble, but here goes. 20 hours (3 working days) to prep a new piano? He's obviously a very slow worker and at that rate isn't going to make a fortune. (which reminds me of the old joke about 'How do you make ...

chrisvenables

I think I read on the forum earlier that Bluthners don't have duplex scaling - I used to play a 2005 Bluthner Model 4 which I disliked intensely all for all sorts of reasons, but I wouldn't have said the tone was dull (certainly not bright, granted, but not dull either). How come they manage withou...

chrisvenables

that zing problem is well known and very common in Steinway grand pianos. Barie mentioned that Steinway restrings the top of 2 years old pianos quite often. Do they? I have never heard about that. I am in doubt that the strings are the culprits, I believe it´s the hammer and therefore a voicing pro...

chrisvenables

Unfortunately since you decided to 'participate' on this forum, it has not become more exciting by the hour, quite the reverse. You have, in my opinion, degraded the standard of postings to which most forum members would aspire and I for one will not respond to any further posts from you. I will lea...

chrisvenables

I really do sympathise with your dilemma and it's a tricky one, as I have only what you have said in your posts to go on. It's safer for me not to respond to your question, and I am leaving myself open to serious abuse in what I am about to suggest, but I do want to help if I can, albeit from a remo...

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