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Hi all,
There's nothing new here for the experienced rebuilders, but others =
might learn a bit from my "journey." I've been a tech since 1982, have =
lots of service, repair, voicing, concert & recording prep experience, =
but had never ventured much into the world of action rebuilding. So, =
what the heck, after a nice, long maternity leave, I started off with a =
D located in a huge auditorium. Probably not where most folks start off =
(and I certainly wouldn't recommend it!), but once I was satisfied with =
the actual rebuilding part--like, hanging the hammers (the biggest =
challenge for me) the rest was my cup of tea.
In the beginning--a 1975 Steinway D, poorly rebuilt about 10 years ago. =
There were a number of problems.
1. The administration expected the piano to fill (without =
amplification) an acoustically dead hall that seats nearly 3500.
2. Because of this expectation, the hammers were voiced like granite. =
Because they were voiced like granite the front duplex of=20
the lower treble had been muted. =20
3. The knuckle mounting distance was around 15 mm.
4. The hammers were too heavy.
5. The combination of the knuckle mounting distance, heavy hammers and =
sluggish action centers made for an especially
heavy touch.=20
Last spring I had been called in as a consultant (you know, an expert =
that lives at least 50 miles away--though I only live 40 miles away). I =
wrote up a report that recommended rebuilding or replacement and gave =
some other suggestions on piano care.
Last fall I was asked to take on the tuning duties at the auditorium. =
"Not unless I can make the piano sound and play better!" I replied. I =
was on my way.....=20
Here's what I did:
First I needed to determine whether or not I could use the existing =
hammers. They were barely worn Steinway hammers, but *seriously* =
hardened. I have had a lot of experience working with over-hardened =
hammers (it seems like all I ever work on are over-lacquered hammers) =
and many folks would groan at my method of softening them, but, it works =
very well for me. After giving an initial voicing, I decided, yes, I =
could use them. That first voicing proved that I could remove the =
muting material from the treble front duplex. Immediately there was =
more power.
Next, I knew I needed to make a change with the knuckle mounting =
distance. I was tempted to use the Kaplan knuckle moving jig, but then =
there were local grumblings made about using Genuine New York Steinway =
parts. There was a definite political aspect to this job, so going with =
Genuine New York was preferable. =20
After changing out the hammer shanks for Steinway shanks with 17mm =
knuckle mounting distance and replacing the wippens, the down weights =
dropped significantly, but it still wasn't good enough--especially in =
the treble. At this point the treble weighed off a *lot* higher than =
the bass---that was sort of special. Keep in mind that I had not yet =
done a significant hammer shaping (or whatever you like to call =
it)--just a minor one when I was testing the voicing.
At this point, with new wippens, new shanks and the old hammers, I had =
my first chance to tune and play the piano in the auditorium (not in the =
basement where the piano resides). Oh my, that treble "knock" reached =
all the way down into the high tenor section--every time I tuned a note, =
I felt like I was getting whacked by a stick. Of course, I realize part =
of that knock was due to some hall acoustics, but it was one of the =
obvious clues about changing the hammer weight.
Next, I tested for hammer weight (actually SW) in regards to tone. I =
simply took the hammer assemblies of notes from above (some a fifth, =
some even an octave) and installed them down in the scale (yes, one has =
to re-regulate). An important detail to remember is the piano already =
had an *even* voicing on it. The tone blossomed on those notes (with =
the lighter hammers) and the touch weight was getting more reasonable. =
It was a great way to get an idea of what hammer weight to shoot for =
because my ear was the judge. I had thought that with the initial =
voicing that the tone color progression from soft to loud was good, but =
it was *nothing* compared to the lighter, or should I say, hammers of a =
more appropriate weight. =20
After "sculpting" the hammers and doing the best regulation (including =
re-balancing the keys) and the absolute best voicing I've ever done in =
my life, etc., the piano sounded great (just my opinion)--I thought it =
was especially amazing because these were the same hammers that had =
produced such ugly sounds earlier. Don't get the idea that the voicing =
was accomplished in a couple sittings, though! Now it can growl, sing =
sweetly and play just above a whisper. =20
I was under the impression that the auditorium management had agreed =
that the piano would always be amplified, so I thought all I had to do =
was make this piano into a well regulated, musical instrument. The =
piano's first (serious) major performance was last Friday night, with =
the Illinois Symphony Orchestra (professional provincial group) with =
Yakov Kasman (silver medallist, Van Cliburn competition '97) playing the =
Rachmaninov Rhapsody on a theme of Paganini. =20
It turned out that the orchestra refused amplification and I was worried =
the piano wouldn't carry the house when accompanied by a full orchestra. =
But---it did! It was a sweet success, and I received several =
compliments--the best one from a pianist I know who always speaks =
exactly what's on her mind, "The piano sounded fabulous------the =
nuances!" I also had compliments from members of the orchestra. That =
was the big pay-off for me (well, I liked the money, too.).
I learned an incredible amount on this job. I had posed the question a =
year ago last spring on this list about whether or not bigger hammers =
were better for projection in a big place like this. I can answer that =
now. No, they have to be juuuuuust right (like Goldilocks and the three =
little bears). I even discovered that they don't have to be voiced like =
granite to carry (at least in this hall). So many of you helped me, =
whether you know it or not. Thanks to those of you with whom I had =
private e-mail exchanges. It was amazing--several times when I would =
have a question, someone on the list would oblige me and ask that =
certain something I needed to know. I couldn't have done it without you.
If there is music to describe my adventure, I would say it's Rossini's =
Overture to La Cenerentola. Go have a listen--the tentative beginning, =
the building crescendo and the joyous end. =20
Again, many thanks to all of you,
Barbara Richmond, RPT
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