Old Steinways

[Farrell]

> I don't think it always true that the older the better.  I believe that
> the first pianos coming out of Steinway were designs in progress, and the
> really great pianos happened after they had finished their learning curve.

So they stopped learning when? About 1880?

Sorry......

Terry Farrell

>   Ah yes, we can learn a lot. Specifically, how not to make a piano.  That
> is what the Steinways did between 1853 and around 1880.  There are a lot 
> of
> things in these pianos that the makers realized needed to be changed.
>   One of the most important things I have learned about these pianos is 
> how
> weak the block and stretcher assembly is.  I had the factory rebuild a 
> type 3
> piano from about 1870.  Even after they had done all the work to spec. , 
> the
> stretcher still bowed up terribly when the piano was under tension.  It 
> isn't
> very stable, tuning wise, either!
>    Dale Irwin writes of maybe addressing this with a Falconwood stretcher,
> but I would suggest finding some way of getting some steel in there. Maybe 
> a
> heavy piece of angle iron that could be let into the stretch/block before 
> it is
> installed?  Somehow, more resistance needs to be found to the rotational 
> force
> upon the pinblock when all the strings are pulling.
>     I don't think it always true that the older the better.  I believe 
> that
> the first pianos coming out of Steinway were designs in progress, and the
> really great pianos happened after they had finished their learning curve.
> Regards,
>
> Ed Foote RPT