[pianotech] Scaling/ a few things more

[Terry Farrell]

Nice post Jim. You stated: "My reason for posting this is that I think  
a lot of techs are simply afraid of doing it!"

I think you are right on the money with that comment. However, as you  
also stated that some rebuilders don't have the design background or  
woodworking skills to incorporate these design changes into their  
project - but they don't want to send the piano out to be redone -  
they want to do it themselves. It should be pointed out that redesign  
services are available (I have Del do all my design work) and there  
are also suppliers available that will do custom belly work -  
soundboards, bridges, cut-offs, etc. - for rebuilders to install in  
their own shops (hmmm, what was the name of that guy who builds custom  
belly stuff.....?).

The bottom line is that if you can rebuild a piano the "traditional"  
way, you can incorporate all this redesign improvements into your next  
project in your own shop. It ain't rocket science, and there are those  
willing to walk you through anything you might have trouble with.

Terry Farrell
Farrell Piano, Inc.
Makers of custom belly components (oh yeah, it must have been that  
guy...  ;-)

On Jul 31, 2009, at 1:54 PM, Jim Busby wrote:

> All,
>
> Before I saw Del’s and Ron’s work I usually took the “easy road” (my  
> words, no offense meant!) but then I saw how relatively simple it  
> was to do the following, and my pianos we’re greatly improved.
>
> 1.       A simple rescaling almost always helps any piano, and I  
> always do it now. After a few it is not hard at all. Work with  
> someone at first, or take a class.
> 2.       Changing the bass bridge to make it “right” or better;  
> better backscale, eliminate or reduce cantilever, place the bridge  
> in a better spot, only takes a few hours more, but the bass comes  
> alive! Well worth the effort, and again, not difficult after a  
> couple. Del and Ron have posted pictures and details many times.
> 3.       Transition bridge nearly always helps the scale. Again, not  
> rocket science, but you’ll need to do your homework.
>
> My reason for posting this is that I think a lot of techs are simply  
> afraid of doing it! When you look at (hear) the difference it really  
> is worth it and I’d encourage anyone with some woodworking skills to  
> consider at least these 3 changes. When I restring I always see if  
> this can be done, and if at all possible do it. There are some more  
> things to be done, for sure, but these have been easy (relatively)  
> to do and worthwhile.
>
> Granted, I don’t have the skills (yet, and probably never due to  
> time) to do much soundboard/bridge design, but IMO if you want to  
> make a nice change at least consider these 3 things while you’ve  
> “got the hood up”. For the complete system I’d always happily  
> recommend someone like Ron or Del to jump in and take the job.
>
> Jim Busby
>
>
> From: pianotech-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces at ptg.org]  
> On Behalf Of Terry Farrell
> Sent: Friday, July 31, 2009 6:22 AM
> To: pianotech at ptg.org
> Subject: Re: [pianotech] Scaling
>
> Well said Del....
>
> Terry Farrell
>
> On Jul 30, 2009, at 5:04 PM, Delwin D Fandrich wrote:
>
>
> And when it is all back together and you find the same tone problems  
> and voicing problems the piano had originally--the unevenness, the  
> poor bass/tenor break, the muddy bass, etc.--you'll understand why  
> some of us rescale every piano we rebuild. Whether we can clearly  
> see the original scale or not.
>
> ddf
>

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://ptg.org/pipermail/pianotech.php/attachments/20090731/68fada3e/attachment-0001.htm>