Not used to this place; I posted this message and it disappeared; trying again.....
They are nice instrument indeed. The problem with the Blüthners built in the old GDR was not the build itself; it was the components used in the build. In those times the company was instructed by government on which materials they would be permitted to use.
For example this one here had tinned wire in the treble. Tinned wire does not do well in high humidity, and when I received this instrument the wire was shattering in chicken bone like fractures long ways along the wire. I had never seen anything like that previously.
Replaced with Roslau and a hand coil maker for the German coils. I can tell you there is a certain flow to getting those coils all the same, and it is not a walk in the park.
The surprise for me was the pin block which was the maple 3 ply plank, not multi laminate which I do not favour.
Next up was the finish which was high gloss poly like the one you have looked at. Instead of the crazing or crackling like snake skin or alligator, this poly was cracked in long lines like pond ice, going the length of the case and the top board. This is an indication of excessive use of catalyst in the mix, and the catalyst continued to go harder and harder until the finish gets so brittle anything would make it crack, such as temp changes or even moving.
I have never liked high gloss black, too 80's for me. Replaced with resistant black satin a special black mix from Eroko, a product of ML Campbell if I recall correctly. I then brushed out the finish with double zero wool wrapped around a wooden block. I also got rid of the decal which was in Gothic block and plenty ugly.
The hammer set was replaced with Abels direct from Helmut. I was told by colleagues in Europe that if I order the hammers from Blüthner they are sent from Abel anyways.
Here is a little photo tour of this one. Go forward and back using the arrows underneath each frame. Text to read on the right side of each photo in the tray. I am not trying very hard to sell this one......happy viewing, best of luck,
Bluthner Aliquot
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Dan Silverwood
www.silverwoodpianos.com http://silverwoodpianos.blogspot.com/ -------------------------------------------
Original Message:
Sent: 01-10-2014 15:17
From: Loren Kelley
Subject: Weird Bluthner bass strings
Thank you Dan for the back story. This piano did have a Renner action. Another thing about it was that it had a polished black polyester finish that had buckled all over and was cracked in places at the edges - perhaps that is a legacy of the Communist-era production too. The owners said it was housed in a monastery for many years, then shipped to Florida. Considering all this, it's a decent piano.
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Loren Kelley
Tacoma WA
253-376-4545
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Original Message:
Sent: 01-10-2014 09:35
From: Dan Silverwood
Subject: Weird Bluthner bass strings
Could be a communist era Blüthner that you looked at Loren, which was imported after being sold new. I have a 1980 Mod 6 here shipped and sold in the West from the factory.
I am told by Dr Christian the Blüthners that came west had a Renner action instead of the dreaded Fleming, and had round core bass strings. There were some other differences too, but I would have to look at my files to be sure of what those were.
The hex core on those is no good; the wire bites into the bridge cap, damages the bridge pins, agraffes and hangs up the strings when it does. Round core moves smoothly and has improved tone.
See Gregor Heller @ HellerBass for replacements. Best bass strings I have purchased in 40 years of this trade.
http://www.hellerbass.de/uk/entrance.htm
Best of luck,
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Dan Silverwood
www.silverwoodpianos.com
http://silverwoodpianos.blogspot.com/
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Original Message:
Sent: 01-09-2014 13:01
From: Loren Kelley
Subject: Weird Bluthner bass strings
I recently tuned and inspected a Bluthner grand, Model 6 from about 1980. The entire bass was strung with hex-core strings, except for the top monochord, which looked like it had been replaced - it had a round core. I only noticed this when a bass string broke. As I was splicing it, I had to look closely and saw the core.
Has anyone else ever encountered such a thing? They sounded fine. I've never used universal hex-core replacement strings. The ones I've encountered as single replacements did not sound as good as their original neighbors.
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Loren Kelley
Tacoma WA
253-376-4545
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