The mutually agreed upon plan for my new Bluthner upright was to wait and see. Or more accurately, play and see. Ori’s tech Bob, or perhaps Ori himself, would come back in a month and do whatever voicing was deemed necessary at that time. It seemed a good plan, except for one thing; it was premised on the belief that the piano would “open up” significantly in the interim, a belief I did not necessarily share.

But I was determined to give this instrument every benefit of the doubt. I felt partly responsible for any problems since I’d bought the piano sight unseen. Moreover, I had absolutely no experience with new pianos, much less high end new pianos. If I couldn’t drum up much actual faith that our new Bluthner would improve with time, and only a short time at that, then I was determined at least to suspend as much of my emotionally draining skepticism as I could. I had absolutely nothing to lose, and even with the piano’s unacceptable treble, there was much to explore and enjoy. The easy action was a joy (not a word I use much), and the bass, especially in comparison with my old Aeolian, seemed as powerful and pure as church bells. I’d not expected so much power out of this piano, and I was absolutely thrilled.

Ah but that muted, plinky treble. To me, it seemed a piano at war with itself. How could an instrument sound so good on one side, and so awful on the other? My repertoire is severely limited, but I played whatever I could that had a lot of treble, like Claire de Lune,in the hopes that Bob and Ori were right, and that continued play in the problem area would make the difference..

I’m almost certain there were moments when Ori felt that I just wasn’t properly appreciating his beautiful piano, a piano he’d expertly prepped with his own two hands, and which he’d never have let out the door without its meeting his own exacting standards. And yet he never once let me feel that I was not entitled to my own ear, and never wavered from his commitment to in his words “make me happy.”

Despite Ori’s assurances, I was an emotional wreck. I spent half the time berating myself for being dumb enough to buy a piano I’d never played before, and the other half wondering how this obviously beautifully crafted instrument, an instrument that Bob had pronounced to be in good working order, could sound so crappy to me. True, he’d agreed that the treble was “weak,” but unlike me he seemed to be using the word in an entirely neutral, non-pejorative sense, in just the way he might have called the piano a trifle bright or a trifle mellow, indicating a benign condition that represented only a slight departure from the usual state of Bluthner grace and perfection, a departure that was in any case temporary.

As the weeks passed and the piano didn’t improve, I became more convinced that the problem, if one can use that word, lay with me. Perhaps I had some genetically determined aural tic that rendered me allergic to what most people agreed was the beautiful Bluthner sound. I knew of course that there’s no one size-fits-all when it comes to pianos, and that not liking a particular manufacturer, no matter how highly esteemed, is not symptomatic of a flawed character, but there were times when I couldn’t help thinking that maybe I was just a tin-eared lout who didn’t deserve a top notch piano. Even my wife had grown increasingly fond of our new Bluthner, proclaiming that the treble no longer bothered her.

One night about three weeks after Bob’s visit I was speaking with Ori on the phone, and he suggested that I open the lid to bring out more sound. I was surprised to hear him say this as I’d discovered on the first day that the piano sounded better with an open lid. I’d just assumed that this was standard practice. When I told him this there was a long silence. I could almost hear the wheels turning in his mind. When he finally spoke, it was with a note of relief. “I know what the problem is. It’s your acoustics. It’s that small room of yours with the wall-to-wall carpeting and the bookcases along every wall.

Forcing myself to stay calm, I asked Ori what we could do to improve the situation. But all the possible fixes struck me as half way measures. I was in no mood to fool around. If the room was at fault, then let‘s change rooms. “What if we just move the piano into the living room?” I asked. “It’s a much larger area with hardwood floors and only a few bookcases, one table, and a couple of chairs.”

Bob was due in a week, but I needed more time. Moving the piano would require a basic alteration in the way we used our small, 1600 square foot house, and it’s not something I could rush. I also wasn’t sure my wife would consent. Ori and I agreed to put off Bob’s visit. I told him I’d call in a few days when we’d worked it all out.

I wandered into our acoustically challenged little music room, and sat down to play. For what must have been the thousandth time I started in on the first few bars of Claire De Lune. It seemed that everything wrong with this piano was contained in those first few plinky, two note chords. I’d been playing these same few measures for weeks, over and over again, day after day, driving myself, and no doubt my wife, crazy. But I couldn’t help it. My fingers seemed compelled to probe the offending sound in just the way one’s tongue is compelled to probe an offending tooth.

Suddenly I stopped playing. Something was different. I could hardly believe my ears.


To be continued….

You need to continue soon--the suspense is killing me!!!!!

I once had a very bad cord for about 2 weeks after getting my new piano. I finally called my dealer to express my displeasure and explain the symptoms. He said it sounded like something was inside the piano. He had me peek behind the fall-board and sure enough the key for the lid had fallen out and slid behind the fall-board and was laying across the piano keys for that bad cord. I didn't even know the lid key was missing. Sounded great after fishing the lid key out.

Also, I had a dampp-chaser piano humidifier installed and just a day or two after it runs out of water I could swear my fingers are on the wrong keys when I play. So try getting a dampp-chaser and check it ever day so it does not dry up.

I was going to ask if you were a professional writer until I remembered you play cards!

Oh, and I figured out the ending with this "clue". You were getting dental work for some time and the dentist had given you too much novicaine. This had affected your hearing so when the novicaine finally wore off....

Right?

OMG, this is good...I love the suspense

I'm a freelance writer in addition to the poker. And again, just in fairness to Ori, this has a happy ending. There was nothing wrong with the piano.

Thanks for the wonderful story. When we wrote a long story the suspense started to bring howls of protest. But keep it up. Write a long story and start putting in some pictures, such as of your rooms and your piano, etc. Look at our story and see what I mean. Thanks again.

Aw card guy, I can't believe you let us down by saying "there's nothing wrong with the piano". I thought you were going to build up to the obvious, but now by mentioning it so non-chalant, (sp?), you just blew the whole story. Dang Nabit, that was going to be good. IT was like a great movie/book with a big let down ending. NO matter how it ends now, we know there's nothing wrong with the piano and there's no more suspense.

Oh well...

I'm sorry Busy. I had to weigh being entertaining against being fair to a reputable dealer who treated me quite well.

I'm sure you understand. I actually said the same thing at the tail end of Part 1.

Forgive me???

Yeah, I understand, but I think we all knew there was nothing wrong with the piano, cause we know of Ori's integrity and workmanship, I just wished you wouldn't have wrote it.

To be 100 percent honest,I feel pretty much the same way. But forum's are funny, and you never know how people are going to interpret things. Not everybody is as careful a reader as you obviously are..

Well Cardguy, I usually don't read so careful, but your story was so well written and intriguing that I held on to every word.

Are you going to finish the story then?

cardguy,
OK, I'm hooked also. I'm sure there are a lot more out there on the forum that are also hooked. Please, how soon Part three?
Woody

A 1600 square foot house is small?? You should try getting a 5'6" grand into a 920 square foot house like I have.
Now get to the last chapter, the suspense is killing me. And if your audience dies off, then where will you be? Besides, Blüthner is my favorite brand, so I want a HAPPY ending.

Good point, Chat, Size is relative. I'm very happy with our house, and grateful to have it. I've lived in many crappy little apartments in my life, so 1600 square feet feels like a lot. On the other hand, it felt like a big decision at the time, from a house arranging point of view.

I'll try to get this finished in a few days. Promise.

Oh goodie, we get to wait a few more days...

GROAN!!! WHINE!!! A couple of DAYS???? Oh no!!!

Then in the mean time, lets play end the story for Cardguy...

I say water is his ear drained out after 40 years. As I understand it his girl friend at the time dumped his water bong over his head and it just now drained out.

The piano is fine...

Sorry folks...

I'm juggling two jobs at the moment, plus taking care of my eldery mother who's broken her hip.I'm doing the very best I can to finish this. I've already made it clear that there were no problems with the piano, and that it has a happy ending. Put 2+2 together. The piano improved on its own, improved even more when we moved it. I couldn't be happier.

That's it in a nutshell.

By the way Mark, I see you've edited your post accusing me of being too vain to finish. Which has to be just about the lamest thing I've read in a long time. You should have left it up. More lively. You did pretty much take the fun out of it for me though, so if that was your intention mission accomplished.

Mark?????

Cardguy, will you tell us the long version of the rest of the story? The executive summary you provided above did help relieve the suspense, but even so it wasn't as much fun to read as the beautifully written parts that came earlier. . . .

While at Ori's showroom last year, the Bluthner grand there (not sure of the model but it was over 6 ft long) was my favorite of all. I ended up buying an Estonia 168 because it was what my NYC apartment and my budget would allow. Ori is truly committed to his craft and his pianos are a joy to play.

Cardguy - I have enjoyed reading about your Bluthner and appreciate your writing very much. Hope you will soon find the time to finish the long version.