I can't see the password but I have one of these instruments, derelict however. The main problem is a fetish for leather plectra. Ideally they need to be chopped flush and delrin inserted at the top of the leather.
Whether your clients is the same or not I don't know but mine is, as is traditional, sealed underneath. It could be helpful to use a multitool to take out a square inspection hole underneath so as to be able to insert an endoscope so as to be able to inspect the structure inside.
With the help and guidance of Michael Gamble we restored a 1970 Clayson and Garret and I documented it on
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL98A6E31D91961DB9 if helpful.
Your mention of stout bracing suggests that the instrument might be earlier than mine - I have a single manual which doesn't have the closed bottom which has what could be described as the stout bracing.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QLwI1FIGWJU shows the composite jack structure - in my experience there is no inherent problem with them other than a dearth of spares.
The single manual has rather a plucky spirit (forgive the pun)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6bgsy05Lm2w and of its sort is a worthwhile instrument.
Please forgive me - at the moment I'm away from home and so cannot look at the instrument itself. Some jack rails are brass whilst others are wood. Is it the mechanism that's stopping the movement or is it the jack-rails themselves? If wood, then they can be sanded to be thinner. Please email me on
antespam@gmail.com any photos showing the problem.
These instruments are deprecated as a matter of fashion but nevertheless remain worthwhile as our concert recording demonstrated.
Best wishes
David P
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David Pinnegar BSc ARCS
Hammerwood Park, East Grinstead, Sussex, UK
+44 1342 850594
"High Definition" Tuning
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Original Message:
Sent: 05-11-2022 14:57
From: Joe Wiencek
Subject: Sperrhaken-Passau harpsichord
Dear list,
A client has a double manual 8/8/4 Sperrhaken-Passau harpsichord that he really wants to try to get working. Since he bought it, it has never worked. I think I have located the main issue (see photos,) and I wonder if there's any hope to get it going.
The stops for engaging the rank of jacks are pinched by the soundboard/belly rail. My idea is to try to file, remove the section of wood that's impinging the stop movement. My question is if this could potentially be a cure, or just a band aid until the next seasonal shift? This harpsichord had stout bracing, like a piano, so I wonder how this could have happened in the first place. Less disastrous to my mind is the hitch pin rail (terminology?) is pulling from the rim.
Any ideas or comments quite welcome!