I'm with James here. Looks like wear and tear. Glue joint and poorly oriented grain failures.
Playing for a performance is not like practice. The expectation was probably this piano would serve as a grand,
which it was never intended to do. Even if it were vandalism, impossible to prove. I am surprised the accompanist did not inform of this.
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Dave Conte, RPT
Piano Technician in Residence
The University of Tennessee
College of Music
Knoxville TN
(817) 307-5656
Owner: Rocky Top Piano
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Original Message:
Sent: 01-14-2025 00:00
From: James Kelly
Subject: Piano vandalism, or ?
Two look like the shanks came out of the butt probably due to glue failure. Two others look like the shanks broke off at angles that allow a glue repair with a wrap using silk cord or upholstery thread wrapped like what is used on fishing rods to attach the line guides.Maybe a few players got too heavy handed
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James Kelly
Owner- Fur Elise Piano Service
Pawleys Island SC
(843) 325-4357
Original Message:
Sent: 01-13-2025 12:09
From: Zeno Wood
Subject: Piano vandalism, or ?
18 years here and this is a first. We lent a practice room Yamaha U1 to the Theater department for a play, as we've done several times in the past. I tuned it the morning of their opening night and all was well. After a successful run we brought it back to the practice room but I didn't check it out as it was the day before the holiday break. Just went to tune it this morning and I found 5 broken hammers! I'm meeting with the production manager later on, and she feels terrible about it. I think I'll be consoling her - it won't take that long to repair... So I'm wondering if this was intentional vandalism (why on earth?) Or was it accidental (how on earth?)
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Zeno Wood
Brooklyn, NY
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