Dear members,

 

The end is almost near for the double manual Leigh-Flanders harpsichord I've
been struggling with to get it back in a more or less decent playing
condition. Strings, jacks and keyboard were the main target:

 

*	The original strings were mainly low-tensile steel wire (and some
copper/brass) and the sound was overall very weak. A feature I've noticed in
several other harpsichords of this maker.
*	The case/bottom are in plywood, a favorite material of those times.
To be honest I must add that I've played on instruments (e.g. Willard
Martin) which also had plywood parts and didn't sound all that bad. Still.
*	The keyboard frame was in authentic MDF, and for some reason the
keys were balanced so that they fell down when no jack was resting on the
key. I've reworked this and now the keyboard is roughly 2 kg(!) less heavy.
*	I thought I could replace the worn-out plastic tongues with new
Zuckermann's but there was just this 1/10th of a millimeter difference to
make them fit. So everything went to the waste bin and now proper wooden
jacks/tongues are ready.

 

Now I've have to make on final decision: the soundboard has no soundhole.
Should I add one or not? I couldn't find any decent info. Most articles are
obscure or so vague that I can't make anything out of it. What does the
wisdom of the list suggest?

 

Many greetings,

 

Chris.

 

 


::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Note:  opinions  expressed on HPSCHD-L are those of the  individual con-
tributors and not necessarily  those of the list owners  nor of the Uni-
versity of Iowa.  For a brief  summary of list  commands, send mail to
[log in to unmask]  saying  HELP .
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::