Killer Octave Question

[Greg Newell]

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John,
         I'm confused. Exactly which question did you answer here?

Greg Newell




At 05:24 PM 4/12/2003, you wrote:

>Phew Ron,
>
>Are you sure you what me to answer all of these questions? I feel like a 
>general at a CENTCOM briefing. I can' answer all of this at once so let me 
>bite off one and see how it goes.
>
> >> I have worked on many brands of grand pianos and have observed that
> >> some pianos seem not to have this feature but the two brands that
> >> consistently show evidence of bridge crowning are Steinway and Mason
> >> and Hamlin.
> >
> >
> > John,
> > How then does this correlate with the number of new Steinways we see
> > (often enough on the showroom floor) with concave crown in the killer
> > octave? It seems to me that if a crowned bridge is supporting soundboard
> > crown and making it last longer, there ought to be soundboard crown to
> > show for it. Especially in a new piano.
>
>Since my rebuilding process involves soundboard replacement I usualy work 
>on pianos that are over the hill - say 40 years old or more. I don't 
>expect to see very much crown left at this stage no matter how well made 
>or what design principles were used. As far as how new pianos are fairing; 
>all I can think is that we are simply not living at a time in history that 
>is conducive to building fine pianos. We no longer have the cheap skilled 
>work force or the economic momentum (competition for a growing marker) 
>that was the fertile environment that nurtured these fine 
>instruments.  Furthermore, and most telling is how far we are removed from 
>the aesthetic soil that gave rise to a true renaissance in piano building. 
>The public's ears are no longer attuned to the subtleties of tone and 
>fewer and fewer of them would know the difference between the frogs seen 
>in hotel lobbies or the finely prepared pianos of Carnegie Hall. Now days 
>we are lucky if a few pop out the factory door without fatal flaws.
>
>Fortunately the news is not all black for us technicians in this era of 
>shrinking interest in the piano. There are still a few great oaks standing 
>in the old growth forest. They with there followers are still interested 
>in the piano and the music written for it. I can't think of any of them 
>that I have met that would not want their piano to sound and play as well 
>as those built at the height of the golden era of piano building. It is 
>their hope as - I hear it - that playing these pianos will give them 
>greater insight into the music they love to play. I think that studying 
>these instruments is vital to us technicians - and not just studying how 
>they don't work but how they do work.
>
>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
>
>Piano Technicians Journal
>Journal Illustrator/Contributing Editor
>
>
>_______________________________________________
>pianotech list info: https://www.moypiano.com/resources/#archives
>

Greg Newell
mailto:gnewell@ameritech.net 

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