A client is loaning his Yamaha DC2 Mark IV grand to an outdoor band shell like stage for eight days of outdoor concerts. What is the best way to protect the piano from the July weather in New Jersey?

Given the disadvantage of the setting, I would store it closed, with the cloth cover over it, and run Dampp Chaser rods underneath the piano with a humidistat...if you don't want to install the Dampp Chaser rods etc permanently, you can put them on a knocked together wooden frame that rolls under (and out from under for the show) the piano.

The idea is to try to keep the relative humidity level under control...someplace around 42-50%. Good luck!

RPD

And put a beach umbrella over it, to keep it out of the sun. That'll be a look.

Your client is nuts to do with with a $40-$50k instrument filled with electronics!

Did I hear LOAN, not RENT??? wow.......

there's one born every minute...

What sort of storage do they have at the stage?

Maybe an outdoor piano like this?

Every summer for the last 14 years, Mr. "B" has a piano, -recently a Steinway- setup on the boulevard, under a canopy at the corner of South University and East University Avenues for the Ann Arbor Art Fair. He plays - along with some fill-in guests - Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday, all day long. Shown below is Mr. "B" with his illegitimate dad, Bob Seeley.

The stage is a brick building. 5 of 6 sides are solid construction. There is a heavy curtain in front. I'm going to clip on a short dampp chaser heater and insert some absorbing packets on the plate.

A piano I worked on had a box on wheels for it, with a door. The piano could be pushed into the box, or the box could be pushed around the piano. Clever stage hands could do something like that. It would not be complete protection, but it would be better than nothing.

The piano was moved by a low priced mover. The house is on a hill. 2 men went to get the truck. The third man held the piano on the hill. He lost control of the piano. It fell on his ankle, breaking the bone in three places. The piano made it to the stage with a 2 inch gash in the poly finish but no structurak damage except for one TFT film strip that was bent out of its window. The stge has a garage door on front of the curtain thatr is sealed at night.