On Mon, 4 Jan 2016 09:17:57 +0100, dc <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

>Le 04/01/2016 00:08, Tilman Skowroneck écrit :
>> ... If one leaves a harpsichord with quill alone for a longer timespan, it will need some work afterwards.
>
>Why? I often leave quilled instruments unplayed for months, and they 
>require no work at all (besides tuning). What kind of problems would 
>need a half a day's work? 

Well, I was sort of sketching a worst-case scenario, based on some peoples' reports. I also edited away the crucial sentence in my previous text: "It's a matter of mindset," simply because it sounds so much like "better than thou" and that's not what I mean here. Adding it back in here for clarity.
If a bunch of quills that "still sort of work" but already are showing signs of imminent failure are left alone for a longer period, they'll weaken pretty drastically when playing is resumed. It _looks_ like a lot of quills suddenly fail. If an owner of an instrument where this happens doesn't have the knack of (perhaps even: slightly self-critical) technical analysis at that point, s/he'll soon decide that "quill isn't for her/him".

I am leaving my own harpsichords untouched for months sometimes (matter of doing research and playing clavichord and fortepiano, too), and, like you and many others, I usually don't encounter many problems with the quills. I, too, believe that quill is easier to work with. But I have encountered many people (good people, I should again emphasise) who simply don't have the patience or the anticipatory technical focus to wrap their minds around voicing problems at that crucial point when they first announce themselves. I've also encountered many people who have serious problems keeping their voicing regular and judging whether an instrument as a whole gets too soft or too loud. 
Some otherwise good people also have, for example, a problem keeping their pantry well stocked; it's not a problem of food, but one of administration.

fwiw Tilman

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