Hi all,  Well, its time for an update on my "Monster".  As I told you
before, the piano that Andy is working on is very different!  Now this is
even worse.

Last week Andy finally got the last two parts for the Pianomation.  He
now has it all installed, and he just had to see if it would work.  He
ran the MIDI cable out the window to hook it up (keep in mind the piano
was on the carport), but he didn't have a cable long enough to reach to
the piano, so he put his MIDI tester in line so with it and two cables
it would reach the piano.

Now all I could hear was the beeps from the tester, then a 1- or 2-second
delay, then the piano.  Boy, that was a funny sound.

Today we put the piano in the house.  As I write he is sitting here
playing it, but (hold on to your hats) *without* bass strings!  :)

I have heard it all now!  But the clickity-clack of the bass hammers
sounds pretty neat with Ragtime music.

He would have had the strings, but with the delivery strike by U.P.S.,
the company that does his bass strings had to send them by U.S. Mail,
and they were sent out over 2 weeks ago.  As you can guess they still
have not arrived.  As the days go on without those bass strings Andy
is getting harder and harder to live with.

Since the bass strings in a piano is the foundation of all music, it
lacks a lot.  But, from the sound of the rest of the strings, I can
tell that we have rebuilt the piano properly.

Andy refinished the case of the piano and it looks great.  The case
is a ranch-style case, and the only piano that we have that doesn't have
any scarring on the case at all.  The reason that he used this case in
particular (Marshall & Wendell) was that I liked the look of it (and the
strung back was ruined anyway).  I couldn't believe my eyes -- it was
perfect when he got it done!

John Rutosky, in Baltimore MD, sold us both pianos (the Foster & Co. and
the Marshall & Wendell).  At least he was honest about the condition of
both pianos; they are now ONE piano, I guess you could say!

When we were in Baltimore, John had all kinds of musical goodies, and
we both felt like a couple of kids that had just been turned loose in
a toy store!  :))

Wives, don't be too hard on your husbands when they spend days or weeks
restoring these things.  Look at it this way: they're where you can keep
an eye on them!!  :)

Regards

Christiene  Taylor
Matthews, Mo.