[CAUT] Piano truck acoustics

[Douglas Wood]

To my way of thinking, the large brass casters are excellent when the  
only people that move the piano are professionals (trained stage crew  
included). The truck is much more forgiving of fools, and softer or  
uneven floors. The Hamburg-style leg built in NY (part 26575) allows  
the casters (from Steinway, Jurgen, or PianoTek) to be easily  
installed without changing other elevations. Check prices, and  
compare with how many hours it takes to do the modification, and the  
end result.

We have two D's with big brass casters (I installed both sets), and  
one with a Schaeffer carriage (truck). Everyone loves the brass  
casters in our big hall, and there the only people to move the pianos  
are the stage crew. I have them sufficiently fearful of the runaway  
piano. And I have them trained to always have the casters pointed  
fore-and-aft, as this can otherwise change the touch by flexing the  
keybed.

The truck had wheels that were too big. The pedals were over 3" off  
the floor, producing occasional complaints from students. So I  
contacted CasterSolutions (greg at castersolutionsinc.com) for casters  
that put the pedals at the right height. I believe they have 4"  
wheels--if you're interested, I can look up the specs I gave him.  
They even painted them black for me, and supplied them at quite a  
good price, 2 with brakes, 1 without. Very nice. Spec'd to at least  
the weight of the piano. We've put a BIG sign by the piano in its  
closet about how much easier it is to move the piano if the brakes  
are off.

I haven't provided wedges for under the legs, as this piano is a bit  
"big" for the hall anyway. But it sounds like an excellent idea. Very  
simple. I suppose harder material is better for sound transmission,  
but harder than the birch of which the legs are made is probably not  
necessary. The hard part for us would be having them not disappear.


Doug Wood
Piano Technician
School of Music
University of Washington

dew2 at u.washington.edu
(206) 543-3514

On Mar 20, 2009, at 11:21 AM, Paul T Williams wrote:

>
> Thanks, Andrew,
>
> I misunderstood the wedge placement..truck.leg...not wheel.
>
> PW
>
>
>
> Andrew Anderson <andrew at andersonmusic.com>
> Sent by: caut-bounces at ptg.org
> 03/20/2009 11:44 AM
> Please respond to
> caut at ptg.org
>
> To
> caut at ptg.org
> cc
> Subject
> Re: [CAUT] Piano truck acoustics
>
>
>
>
>
> Paul,
> The wedge is inserted under the leg providing support between the  
> cup bolt and the floor.  The wheels are too far aft to do any good.
>
> Andrew Anderson
> On Mar 20, 2009, at 10:56 AM, Paul T Williams wrote:
>
>
> Hi Andrew,
>
> Do you have these wedges both in front and back of each wheel?  How  
> big are they? Are they contoured to the diameter of the wheels?
>
> I think I'm going to make some for at least our stage with the wood  
> floor.  I don't think they would add much to the rubbery floor at  
> Lied or the tile floor in the smaller venue...other that keeping  
> the piano from moving around.  None of ours have brakes (I think...)
>
> Thanks
> Paul
>
>
> Andrew Anderson <andrew at andersonmusic.com>
> Sent by: caut-bounces at ptg.org
> 03/20/2009 10:17 AM
> Please respond to
> caut at ptg.org
>
>
> To
> caut at ptg.org
> cc
> Subject
> Re: [CAUT] Piano truck acoustics
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Zeno,
> I learned from Guy Nichols to ground the piano to the floor with
> wedges kicked under the truck legs.  We painted them black to make
> them less obvious.  This is especially important up front as those
> arms tend to act as springs soaking up the pianist's efforts and the
> tonal energy.  It does make a remarkable difference.
>
> Andrew Anderson
>
> On Mar 20, 2009, at 9:13 AM, Zeno Wood wrote:
>
> > I'm wondering if anyone has any thoughts on the acoustic  
> qualities of
> > a piano truck versus having rubber or metal casters.  We have a
> > Steinway D (on a truck) in our recital hall that sounds big when
> > you're sitting at it, but doesn't sound as big when you're 30 feet
> > back, in the audience.  But the Yamaha with big honking metal  
> casters
> > doesn't sound as big up close, but sounds bigger from the audience.
> > Thoughts?
> >
> > Or am I barking up the wrong tree?
> >
> > Thanks,
> > Zeno Wood
> > Brooklyn College
> >
>
>
>
>

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