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John,
These are some of the problems I have found;
Opening page
Welcome to our web site. The links above will take you to pages that will
answer many of your questions about pianos and quality paino rebuilding.
The information link above will guide you to pages with information on
caring for your rebuilt grand piano, reprints from articles, and other
useful information. To inquire about rebuilding your grand piano or to
[link redacted at request of site owner - Jul 25, 2015]
Craftsmanship page
e53157.jpg This large word graphic is missing a "t"
Vintage Steinway and Mason & Hamlin grand pianos are indisputably among the
finest musical instruments ever made representing the pinnacle of
achievement in piano building. During the golden years of the piano,1880 to
1930, no home was complete without a piano in the parlor. Musical
performance in the home was as common as video games are today and concert
halls featured pianists who were composers in their own right or who had
been tutored by the masters themselves. Inspired by this musical
renaissance, piano builders competed to surpass each other in quality. Two
makers carried the day; Steinway and Sons and Mason & Hamlin.
The pianos of this golden era still triumph over the best product of our
present day builders. Is this surprising? I think not. Today skilled,
experienced crafts people are few and far between while piano builders of
the golden age had access to many highly skilled craftsman (plural)
((craftsmen)) newly arrived from the Old World. We still appreciate and
admire the skill and artistry of these craftsmen from this golden era
through the instruments that survive them.
It is only with the application of these same skills that the great pianos
from the past continue to make music. It is my lifes work to study, develop
and apply the same level of workmanship inspired by these craftsmen and to
rebuild grand pianos with that same attention to detail and with that same
spirit of creation. My goal as an artisan piano rebuilder is to discover
and reveal the beauty of form and function of these great pianos so they
can once again inspire musical expression through touch and tone. These
pianos had a rich and glorious past and with careful restoration they will
continue to inspire into the future. In music, as in other arts, connecting
the past with the future can lead to unexpected rewards in the present. It
is perhaps picky but a sentence should not begin with a preposition. This
pamphlet will help you appreciate some of the details that go into
rebuilding these fine grand pianos.
Soundboards page
e53176.jpg
The piano soundboard is often called the heart and soul of the instrument.
A great soundboard is the foundation for a round singing tone, No comma
making possible the dynamic control so vital to musical expression. A
soundboard past its prime restricts the dynamic range of the instrument,No
comma making the tone brittle and harsh. Even a well made soundboard will
eventually succumb to the ravages of age. The powerful forces from the
steel strings as well as effects from the environment eventually take their
toll and the instrument loses most of its timbre. Replacing the strings and
hammers, adjusting the tuning, and/or voicing or regulating can never
return a piano to its former state if the underlying cause is a
deteriorated or poor quality soundboard.
If the soundboard is the soul of the piano then soundboard building lies at
the heart of the artisan rebuilder's craft. In order to assure the best
results I make my own soundboard panels. The process begins with selecting
rough wood with the specific characteristics needed to make a superior
soundboard. The wood is re-sawn (thinner strips cut from wider stock on a
special band saw) in my shop to approximate thickness and then air cured in
the shop for at least two years. This seasons the wood by slowly bringing
it to the proper moisture content and allowing the naturally occurring
stresses in the wood to dissipate. Wood is then selected for each panel,
dressed to proper thickness and edged glued on a special press. From
experience I have found that hot hide glue, traditionally used in making
soundboard panels, is far superior to any modern adhesive for this
application. Problems with ridging and eventual cracking at the glue line
that plague soundboards built in modern factories with modern adhesives are
avoided. I use old-fashioned hot hide glue for all the critical joints in
the soundboard.
The soundboard panel is cut to fit the case of the grand piano and then
planed to overall thickness and tapered at the edges. This thinning or
tapering of the edges helps the soundboard vibrate as a single resonator
rather than in smaller, separate areas. A fully tapered soundboard - about
1/8" thinner at the edges - can vibrate more freely, especially when the
lower notes are played. Tapering is unfortunately one of many steps that
are often overlooked by rebuilders. These beautiful pianos were originally
made this way and for a unnecessary good reason.
Careful attention is given to selecting and dimensioning the ribs for each
soundboard. For good tone and durability comma a slight upward curve
(crown) is machined into each rib. Never begin a sentence with and ...
maybe reword this sentence. perhaps "Two species of wood are often found
in old pianos ... or something else. And as is often found on older pianos
two species of wood are used. Pine ribs are used in the base and tenor to
help filter out unwanted metallic noise while spruce is chosen for ribs in
the low and high treble to improves no "s" on improve the sustain and carry.
Pinblock and Strings
Attention to detail does not end with building a great soundboard, period
The ... the pinblock, strings, tuning pins and agraffs sp (es?) are also
important. The pinblock in particular is vital to the piano's performance.
It makes smooth, accurate comma and stable tuning possible. While many
cheaper substitutes have been used, no comma pinblocks made from of choose
one, from or of solid quarter sawn hard maple have proven to provide a
durable grip on the pins while allowing for fluid and precise tuning. This
is the type of pinblock found in the golden era pianos having a proven
record - sometimes lasting forty years or more. Eventually time will have
an effect. The enormous force of the strings pulling on the tuning pins
will widen the holes at the top of the block and the pins will end up
resting on the holes in the iron plate. PrepositionTo prevent this and make
the pinblock last even longer I cap the top of the traditional quarter sawn
pinblock with a material made from thin layers of beech which have been
glued under great pressure. This dense cap is much tougher than even hard
maple and will prevent the pins from leaning on the plate but will not
adversely influence the "feel" of the pins thus allowing for precise tuning.
Most shops will ignore the agraffs but these little parts take a lot of
stress over the years and should be replaced. I also use tuning pins, wire
comma and custom bass strings that are of the highest quality . They are of
course more expensive but I want my work to be the best in it .. not ...
in can be and definitely superior to the work found in factories today.
Actions and Hammers
Actions
Because these vintage pianos were hand made, the actions vary from piano to
piano. I make sure that each piano action conforms to the owner's needs. At
the initial interview the musician is encouraged to express their concerns
and the information gathered is used as a blueprint in the rebuilding
project. When the piano arrives at my shop and before any work is begun I
spend hours analyzing how the action is working in its present condition.
Then new parts are (New parts are then, is better) selected and tested to
best arrive at the goals set out at the interview.
I am often asked if I use original factory action parts. No I do not; (end
the scentence here with a period and not a semicolon) I want to use action
parts that will last and give me options when custom fitting the action to
the client. It is an unfortunate fact that quality action parts have not
been made in this country for many years. Fortunately, there are options,
(again, end the sentence here) I use only premium Renner action parts which
are available in several configurations for custom fitting actions and have
proven to be quite durable as well. ("as well" is not needed)
After all the work is done the client is invited to visit the shop and play
their fully restored piano. This is when the final adjustments to tone and
touch are planned in order to arrive at a truly custom fit between pianist
and piano. I work on these details until the client is completely satisfied
in the way their piano plays and sounds.
Hammers
The hammers affect both how the piano sounds and how it feels to play ("to
play" sounds weird. end at "feels"). The hammers need to be light with soft
but resilient felt as they were in the past. The hard, heavy hammers
favored by modern piano builders are inappropriate for rebuilding these
valuable instruments. Hard heavy hammers make the touch of the action
sluggish and impart a tone with an edgy, abrasive and metallic quality
which most of us find unappealing. Another side effect of a too heavy
hammer is the premature wear of strings and action parts due to the
increased stresses. I have gone to great lengths to recreate the
traditional hammer. My hammers are made by hand to my specifications using
vintage hand presses. I also perform all of the critical shaping and
dimensioning here in my shop comma custom fitting each hammer set with the
piano I am working on. As a result I have hammers that work perfectly with
the action and produce a round tone with plenty of dynamic contrast.
There are similar nit picky things on other pages. I'm thinking you get the
idea. I hope this helps. You have a truly well written and thought out web
site albeit a bit "techy".
Best,
Greg Newell
At 11:51 AM 4/11/2003, you wrote:
>Greg,
>Thanks for taking the time to visit the site and your kind words. I would
>like to know more specific information about the mistakes in the text. If
>you have time, would you write this up for me? Please send it directly to
>me as not to burden the list with this topic. Spelling and sentence
>structure have never been my strong points. I was rather hasty in
>preparing the text and I didn't have the usual help from an experienced
>editor that I have had when writing a Journal article for example. If you
>do this for me I would be glad to visit your web site and give you advice
>on the lay-out and graphic design.
>
>John Hartman RPT
>
>John Hartman Pianos
[link redacted at request of site owner - Jul 25, 2015]
>Rebuilding Steinway and Mason & Hamlin
>Grand Pianos Since 1979
Greg Newell
mailto:gnewell@ameritech.net
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