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MMD > Archives > February 2014 > 2014.02.17 > 03Prev  Next


String Scales in Mason & Hamlin Ampico Pianos
By Pat Markey

Hi MMD friends,  I too have a restored Mason and Hamlin Ampico 'A'
size piano, RA38846.  This piano has been fully restored, including
restringing.  I hired a piano restorer to do the piano restringing, and
assumed that all that he did was according to the right specifications.
This is the same issue that Pat Dewitt had [140212 MMDigest].

Because my old wound bass strings were discarded before I got the piano
back from the restorer, I am not sure that the new strings really match
the old ones.  (My bass tonal quality is good but I do not know if the
replacement strings enable it to be at its best.)  Therefore I want to
find someone with a Mason and Hamlin 'A' piano that has original strings
and the same 'string code' as mine so these strings can be measured and
I can compare the measurements to see if mine are, hopefully, the same.
Your piano can be either a regular or an Ampico version.

The string designation code is cast into the piano plate at the end of
the piano farthest away from the keys and near the end of the tenor
string bridge.  My code is A6 and this would pertain to pianos made
from the 1920s through the 1950s.

So if you have an originally strung M&H 'A' grand piano, would you be
so kind as to raise the lid and see if your string code is A6.  If so,
then I can tell you how to measure the bass strings, assuming that you
or a friend knows how to use a dial calipers or micrometer.

Thanks in advance for your help.  Pat Dewitt, thank you for this idea!

Pat Markey
Cincinnati, Ohio


(Message sent Mon 17 Feb 2014, 23:56:39 GMT, from time zone GMT-0500.)

Key Words in Subject:  Ampico, Hamlin, Mason, Pianos, Scales, String

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