It made me wonder why they don't make a fallboard specifically for institutional settings. All it'd take is to relieve the wood back that one eighth and cover it with an eighth of something like plexiglass or some other durable material.

It also made me wonder why the people playing are not trimming their nails. I can't stand to play if mine are not completely trimmed.

I was rather annoyed that a visitor recently left a trail of red nail polish on the ivories from her long nails from doing glissandos with her nails rather than the side of her pinkie or thumb. I'd have planted her in the garden if she'd done that to the fallboard.

I've seen a picture of a thin piece of plastic that covers the fallboard and is held on with some kind of string or strap around the back... I just can't find it now. Thin enough to not make a difference in the key deptch, but thick enough to protect from fingernails.


I just love these random black and white photos on the web...

The fall boards on my pianos get gouged even though my nails are cut to the quick. At first I was very surprised by the appearance of these gouges because I didn't think I was ever touching it. I think it's more a style of playing. Now I have the thin plastic guard installed.

This is pretty cool...



A sea organ, in Zadar, Croatia

Concealed under these steps, which both protect and invite, is a system of polyethylene tubes and a resonating cavity that turns the site into a huge musical instrument, played by the wind and the sea.

See more here

Sea Organ

On the linked page, click on the sound clip link to hear the organ play.

That sea organ is COOL! Everyone should take a moment to listen to it.

And green it is :

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Green aluminum Rippen (Keylard)

From the same site as Steve's above, an unusual 1953 Story & Clark spinet:

Lifted shamelessly from a thread over at PW:

That's criminal!

These are the photos of my "new" 1925 Chickering Ampico, posted in Off Key:


Here is a closeup of the fallboard decal. That finish is pretty badly crackled:


This is it on the dolly, with the drawer closed. There are wooden covers for the lead tubes visible in the photo, they're just not in place in the photos.


With the drawer extended. The leather covers are original - I'm surprised to see them, especially in this good of condition:


This is with the covers removed, so you can see the reproducer components:


All of the labels you see are hand-made by the seller's grandfather, with masking tape() and pencil. So far, he impresses me as a meticulous, somewhat misguided amateur/shade tree mechanic. I found bags with tings like old rubber motor mounts, a couple of valve blocks, and repair supplies literally stuffed into cavities around the motor - left from 1983. Some of the labels have his comments written on them, anything from a piece of cover from inside the spoolbox that he didn't know how to reinstall, to a comment on the dried out rubber motor mounts.

This is it set up finally. It will be interesting to see how it looks after I get done cleaning up the finish:


With the lid and fallboard up. the keys are the original ivory, without the slightest hint of yellow:


The 1923 six foot Chickering is in the background.

No. It sank.

Guess who made this Art Deco masterpiece (before backtracking the picture, of course!):

quote:

Originally posted by rontuner:

What a racket this would make.

The heart-shaped hole is a nice touch.