My college ended up getting a reconditioned Schiedmeyer. Supposedly the band director
and orchestra director claimed there was
a need to own one as they had to borrow
the local symphony's or from one of
the High Schools. (I believe all those
were Jenco celestas)
The one they bought was not refinished and it has many blems. With that said, had that not been available, I think the Yamaha would have been a great choice (but still out of a small school budget)....the Yamaha has a piano action and would be easier to maintain.
The Schiedmeyer we acquired was quite sharp...
not A-440. Maybe it goes flat
under the stage lights?
Once when tuning the concert grand to A-440
the celesta was sitting next to it. I mentioned it to the orchestra manager and
he told the conductor who said not to worry
about it!
From the audience I don't think you could tell.
I think the Jenco I'll discuss was A-440.
If that matters.
The celesta here is rarely used
and mostly sits backstage (covered) taking up space, here. Your needs may be greater but is it $50-60K or even $20--30K greater???.
Is the compass enough for Nutcracker on this
used one?
I think Coe payed around $14K for the reconditioned Schiedmeyer. I think
it is a 5 octave model, but they
also make a 5 1/2 octave instrument.
The local symphony has a Jenco. The touch
feels a bit sloppy, but I was able to regulate
the let off so that it was more even. They
didn't want to put any money into it, so
it was a labor of love/learning experience.
I would like to rebush the keys, but that's
not going to happen as long as they can
get by for the few times they need it. It
just has to work!
I used Schiedmeyer regulation specs to work on the Jenco. Granted they are quite different.
The Schiedmeyer has hard large felt hammers while the Jenco has wooden cores covered by a thin layer of felt. (You can get good felt
for that from Jurgen. It should be easy to recover a set.)
Both celestas have stiff rod/wire mechanics.
So there's a bit of swing and wobble going
on in there. (Picture is of a Schiedmeyer.)
The Jenco is quite loud and the Schidemeyer
is mellower.
I don't know what the Yamaha sounds like.
I'm told it plays more like a piano in
feel and the keyboardists might
find it more likeable.
The Schiedmeyer has a greater compass than
the Jenco.
Curiously the local symphony
has not had an issue playing Nutcracker
with their 4 octave Jenco.
I can't say about other works.
They've never asked to borrow our
Schiedmeyer, so it must not be
a problem.
There are many, many Jenco celestas in
the USA, so you may find a good one that
could just be fixed up for much less
than the Schiedmeyer.
I'm not sure the compass of the Yamaha.
You'd want to check that out.
Like pianos, they do eventually need to
be regulated, voiced or reconditioned.
I think any technician/rebuilder could
take that job on. It's very apparent what
needs doing once you see inside and
know the Schiemeyer methods. They have
a .pdf on their website, I think.
Best of luck finding a good one.
--
Richard Adkins
Keyboard Tuning and Maintenance
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