Advice needed on Bechstein Concert Grand

[Farrell]

Bill wrote:
"Although I find Stanwood's concepts to have merit, they are generally for getting the weight out of heavy actions."  

No so at all. Stanwood's concepts are for managing and evening weight and leverage. Yes, it is more common to want to lighten an action's touch, but Stanwood's concepts work either way.  

Bill's Pianist Client wrote:
"i want the action to be first of all more even across the board"

This IS Stanwood. Stanwood's concepts are KEY for achieving uniform touchweight - unform strike weight, front weight, balance weight, etc.

Bill wrote:
"The tech who rebuilt this action always does whatever he can do to get the lightest touch possible."

Bill's Pianist Client wrote:
"--a 
complete regulation would fix this--but also to be a tad more resistant.  it 
feels a little bit flabby playing that piano, like the keys go down too 
quickly.  the action is a tad too light.  generally, bechsteins are noted 
for having light actions--but this one is pretty extreme."

Sounds like the "tech who rebuilt this action" went too far - and why does he "always do whatever he can do to get the lightest touch possible?". Again, Stanwood's concepts are for managing weight. You can make the BWs uniformly higher or SWs or whatever. But his concepts allow you to go about it in a very organized, directed, controlled and predictable way. No suprises when you are done - you know what the action is going to feel like. That's the beauty of Stawood's concepts. Not even close to "just take out all the lead you can and see what happens!"

I realize such work would go way beyond the one day project, but sometimes when it is explained to a client how such work will get what they are looking for in a piano, they may well consider going that way.

Terry Farrell
  
----- Original Message ----- 
From: <Billbrpt@AOL.COM>
To: <pianotech@ptg.org>
Sent: Saturday, July 06, 2002 7:58 PM
Subject: Re: Advice needed on Bechstein Concert Grand


> Thanks to all who offered their opinions on this.  Yes, it really is more 
> than a day's job but a day is all I will have to make it better than it is 
> now which is not bad.  It is over 100 years old and has the original 
> soundboard which has been shimmed but is stable.  From what I have read in 
> recent years, only soundboard replacement can be expected to deliver the 
> really full, rich sound which a concert grand ought to have.
> 
> Piano technicians often like to draw analogies to their work with that of 
> other professions:  the doctor, the plumber, the auto mechanic, etc.  I kind 
> of like to think I'm like the Veterinarian.  In this case, it will be, "What 
> do you do for an old dog?"
> I'm inclined to leave alone that which is good and stable but work on what I 
> can change that will result in more power and range of dynamics.
> 
> I'll have to take a close look at the dampers.  I frankly had never noticed 
> any problem with them.  If the back action has regulating buttons, it will 
> make them easier to adjust but if it doesn't, the job will be quite tedious.  
> I don't like to have much play at all between the uppermost position of the 
> damper levers and the stop rail.  In my opinion, if the stop rail is too 
> high, it will make an otherwise very well regulated action feel sloppy.  (But 
> also, if it is too low, it can impede the pianist and this is a possibility 
> of one thing which might be wrong.)
> 
> That stability is really its best feature.  It has lost some crown so it does 
> not have as big, full and rich sound as a 9 foot should.  It sounds more like 
> a 6 foot but even that size piano would work well in that small, intimate 
> theater.  I had already made the suggestion about using the Steinway a few 
> years ago to both the artist and the fellowship director.  That is out of the 
> question.  The Bechstein has always been that theater's piano and was used 
> there by the great architect himself.  It stays.
> 
> Although I find Stanwood's concepts to have merit, they are generally for 
> getting the weight out of heavy actions.  The tech who rebuilt this action 
> always does whatever he can do to get the lightest touch possible.  
> 
> I think what must have happened is that some compression of materials has 
> taken place, notably in the knuckles (rollers).  There is a loss of power and 
> too much after touch making it difficult for the pianist to get a good range 
> of dynamics without pounding.
> 
> I plan to carefully go over the regulation, getting the closest let off 
> possible with the minimum amount of aftertouch and still have it work 
> reliably.  I also plan to very carefully shape the hammers, then listen to 
> the results.  If they still need hardening, I will do so with an extremely 
> dilute solution which I will use in repeated applications if necessary to 
> build up to the desired effect.
> 
> I appreciate the opinions about different hardeners.  I'd be willing to read 
> more opinions about this.
> 
> My approach would be essentially what I learned from attending the Steinway 
> seminars.
> 
> As for leveling strings, etc., I'm inclined not to touch them at all since 
> they are so stable but I welcome opinions about this.
> 
> As for octave stretch, if you know me, you know that what I do is considered 
> outrageous to some, so, I already have them stretched nicely for good 
> projection.  Bye the way, the artist and the foundation both know about and 
> accept the EBVT tuning and have for 10 years now.
> 
> Please keep your comments coming.  One of my apprentices will be coming with 
> me that day and we'll enjoy lunch with the Taliesin Fellowship.  I'll have to 
> quit somewhere with it because I am scheduled for a Man of La Mancha 
> rehearsal back in town that evening.  I am looking forward to reporting about 
> what difference I could make by using basic and fundamental techniques to do 
> a day long concert prep of an old but valuable and locally historic 
> instrument.
> 
> Bill Bremmer RPT
> Madison, Wisconsin
>  <A HREF="http://www.billbremmer.com/">Click here: -=w w w . b i l l b r e m m e r . c o m =-</A> 
>