Grotrian 275 grand

[Robert B. Edwardsen]

Agreed Del, when did pianos stop being pianos and become sforzandos?

Rob Edwardsen

Delwin D Fandrich wrote:

> -----Original Message-----
> From: D C AL CODA <kenhale@dcalcoda.com>
> To: pianotech@ptg.org <pianotech@ptg.org>
> Date: Thursday, July 01, 1999 9:59 AM
> Subject: Grotrian 275 grand
>
> >Hi,
> >. . . . .
> >The 275 has recently been voiced up quite a bit, with juice, in order to
> >give it more power, but it seems to be too brassy/brilliant to the point of
> >being described as tinny or harsh. My sense is that in the attempt to gain
> >power, it is too close to the edge of being too brilliant. Pianists are
> >describing it as "a little too brilliant, tinny, harsh", one pianist who
> >travels quite a bit said that Grotrians tend to be too tinny in the
> >treble.  The piano certainly has more power, but when pushed (played big
> >and hard and loud), it gets too brassy too quickly.
>
> It is a common misconception that one can add more "power" to a piano by
> voicing and/or adding lacquer or some other chemical hardener to the hammer.
> None of these processes actually add any power to the acoustic output of the
> piano.  They simply change the make up of the energy spectrum set up in the
> string.  That is, the energy spectrum set up in a string by an impact from a
> relatively soft hammer will have relatively more energy in the lower
> partials relatively less in the higher partials.  An impact by a harder
> hammer will set up more energy in the higher partials and somewhat less in
> the lower partials.  The actual amount of sound energy produced by either
> won't alter much, if at all.
>
> The harder hammer will appear to produce a louder sound only because the
> amount of energy in the initial impact sound will be greater and more of it
> will be in a higher frequency range.  Since energy in the higher partials
> transfers into the soundboard and dissipates at a more rapid rate, this
> change comes at the expense of sustain.  It also comes at the expense of
> tone quality.  So you pays your money and you takes your choice -- there
> ain't no such thing as a free lunch here.
>
> In general, the tone quality of modern pianos has become harder and brighter
> over the past couple of decades.  In part this is because it is easier to
> build pianos in very high production this way.  Since it is an axium of
> marketing strategy that when one is confronted with a "bug" or a design
> defect the best solution is to call it a "feature" and raise the price, a
> great deal of marketing effort has gone into convincing the piano world that
> this is all a very good thing.  Sadly, this doesn't really make it so and
> much musicality has been lost along the way.
>
> >So, at least a couple of my questions are:
> >
> >Has anyone been successful in getting this piano to be more powerful (along
> >the lines of the Steinway), without overstepping the boundary into
> tinny-ville?
>
> Yes, this could be done.  All you would have to do is change the stringing
> scale to match that of the Steinway, replace the soundboard with one
> designed and shaped like that of the Steinway, install and shape and heavily
> lacquer/acrylic a set of Steinway hammers, etc.  You might have to do a bit
> of rim work and plate work as well.  It might be simpler and cheaper in the
> long run to simply buy a Steinway.
>
> >Is the Grotrian better at that round-mellow (European) tone, rather than
> >trying to compete with the Steinway sound? How's that for a generality (but
> >it does seem to me that the Steinway Concert Grand is the benchmark for
> >many people's ears:-)?
>
> Yes.  In my opinion at least, it will be better to let the Grotrian be a
> Grotrian and spend your effort trying to educate the pianist to appreciate
> the value of tonal subtlies.  And as far as the Steinway Concert Grand being
> the benchmark for piano sound...what year were you refering to?  The tone
> quality of the SCG being produced today bears little resemblence to that of
> just a few years ago and even less to that of some decades back.  It would
> appear that these pianos are now trying to emulate the hard, brassy sound
> that the marketing people seem to like so much.  Unfortunately those tastes
> don't always have much to do with music.
>
> -- ddf