On zaterdag, mei 3, 2003, at 02:38 Europe/Amsterdam, Farrell wrote: > So tell me more Andre. Of course, I had wanted to be more specific but urgent matters (my wife, grin) called me away......... I think one of the main differences between Bösendorfer and 'the rest' is the way the rims are made. You and other respected colleagues here stated before that good thick rim reflects the energy of the soundboard and, as far as I know, all piano manufacturers stick to this principle. Bösendorfer however is the exception (and please correct me if I 'm wrong because I can not have knowledge of all the pianos in the whole world) : The Bösendorfer rims are made of very long pieces of spruce wood in which grooves are sawn so that the plank becomes very flexible (the plank acts like a harmonica). In that way it is easy to create the needed curve of a rim. The plank than will veneered. and voila.... a rim. Looking at the rim from above, one can still see the openings formed by the grooves. These openings are filled with, again, spruce and the upper side is finished with veneer. voila (coming from Holland, the Belgians are the first ones to speak French, and I am half Belgian)....a rim. This means in effect the opposite of the Steinway, Bechstein, Yamaha etc etc principle where all rims are laminated and pressed in huge presses. It means also the opposite of the principle where energy bounces back, just like the ripples in a pond. In the case of Bösendorfer the energy is also absorbed by the rim which must act as co-vibrating/sounding parts of the grand piano, just like all the parts of the violin. Is it better? Is it worse? Who is to say? This is in the first place a matter of taste and secondly a matter for the soundboard specialist amongst us. I have put my entire creative energy into regulating, tuning and voicing and I have no real practical experience with building matters. My business partner Arnold knows a lot about it and he is the one in our business who fabricates new sound boards and renews ribs. And then of course there are others on this list (America and Australia) who have become specialists. I assume we all know them. As Bösendorfer was my very first factory experience, I deeply fell in love with their beautiful instruments. In between work shifts I always immediately dashed for a particular space in that building (in Vienna) where three imperials stood ready for shipment. They had been sold to Japanese customers but one could still play on the instruments as they had not been crated yet. I will never forget that particular Bösendorfer sound and It had nothing to do with Steinways, Bechsteins, Yamaha's etc...it has a life and a character of its own. Up to now, Bösendorfer is the last remainder of a typical old fashioned (but now modernized and adapted) middle European piano manufacturer and, most of all, the last instrument maker who still reminds us of the Piano Forte or Forte Piano sound from the 19th century. Bösendorfer was the leading piano maker in old Austria, where during that period of time, many gorgeous Piano Fortes and Hammer Flügel had been made by several famous builders, but Bösendorfer also was one of the last ones in the World to make the switch from the 'Wiener action' to the more modern version we know so well. As I went to Bösendorfer to learn specifically about voicing, all I can tell you furthermore that their voicing method is not unique in the world of voicing but very much developed for Bösendorfers only, of course. As my stay in the Bösendorfer factory was my first factory experience, I thought that I knew, as I left for Holland, how to voice piano's in general. I was just green and undeveloped and I started to voice Yamaha's and Steinways like Bösendorfers, not exactly knowing, to put it mildly, why I kept having voicing problems with the other instrument makers. It is obvious that I ravaged many instruments with my newly acquired technique, but, in a way, I was innocent. Bechstein is a totally different matter, but so is Steinway and so is Yamaha and so are all the others. I sometimes give seminars on the different voicing techniques I have learned in various factories and I always put the emphasis on acquiring knowledge of the basic principles and techniques of each piano maker. This is obviously unreachable as it is impossible to visit every factory in the world, but if one knows about at least some different voicing techniques, the world of voicing becomes more and more clear. The same applies to regulation, which only shows how complex and difficult, but also how extremely interesting our profession is. friendly greetings, A. Oorebeek, The Netherlands see my website at : www.concertpianoservice.nl > I have much respect for the Bechstiens and Bosendorfers. But if my > thesis is correct that a massive rim is "best", how to the > light-weight rims of the Bechstiens and others function to be part of > a good sounding piano. > > Please understand - I am not suggesting one is better than the other - > but rather I am trying to get some feel for why two such divergent > design approaches can achieve a similar end. > > Terry Farrell > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: <antares@euronet.nl> > To: "Pianotech" <pianotech@ptg.org> > Sent: Friday, May 02, 2003 4:08 PM > Subject: Re: Piano Rim Theory > > > > On vrijdag, mei 2, 2003, at 19:23 Europe/Amsterdam, Farrell wrote: > >> Bechsteins, from a music perspective, are generally well respected >> pianos. What kind of piano belly theory can shed some light on why one >> piano will be a great piano because it has this massive rim, and >> another piano will be outstanding with this aircraft-weight spruce rim >> (actually, I don't know what kind of wood the inner rim is made of). I >> think the Bosendorfer has similar construction as the Bechstein (maybe >> other European pianos?). >> > > Hi Terry, > > I trained in both the Bösendorfer and the Bechstein factory. > There is no any comparison in the way they are built. > > > > A. Oorebeek, > The Netherlands > > see my website at : www.concertpianoservice.nl > > _______________________________________________ > pianotech list info: https://www.moypiano.com/resources/#archives > _______________________________________________ > pianotech list info: https://www.moypiano.com/resources/#archives > >
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