Sustain in European pianos

[Richard Brekne]

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Delwin D Fandrich wrote:

>
>      From: Tim Coates
>
>      Perhaps you would like to revisit Wapin.  Europe
>      seems to be looking for something like Wapin.
>      There have been European rebuilders inquiring
>      about Wapin. I don't have much experience with
>      European pianos, but I understand they have a
>      very short sustain.
>
>  So, my question (mostly, but not limited) to our European
> list members is -- where has that reputation come from?
> Was this something that was true in the past but is no
> longer? Is it still true with some instruments but not
> with others? Has something changed recently in the overall
> design and construction of some specific instrument makers
> which has changed things? Or is this reputation generally
> unwarranted -- more US propaganda we can attribute to the
> anti-and-to-hell-with-the-rest-of-the-world leanings of
> our current administration? In other words, what's up,
> folks? Del

Well, I certainly can not give you a complete history, but I
can tell you that I hear a lot of comments on both sides of
the pond that seem to have more to do with a kind of rivalry
then anything else. There was a time when NY Steinways...
you know... those guys nobody seems to want to call by their
name when they are downputting them :)..... were the
mainstay of the S&S company. But that had to do with WW II
more then much of anything else me thinks.

Personally, I cant see how the myth of sustain times got
started at all. My experience is that in general we are
talking about northern Europe, and that generally means a
bit more stable climates then in say Florida where one day
can be dry as phosphored apricots and the next as humid as
an overripe tomato in a sweathouse. In general pianos seem
to stay the way they were built for a longer time here then
in some places in the US.

Bergen is pretty comparable to Seattle weather wise... we
get about 70 % RH and  55 - 75 F summers, and 30 % RH -5 to
45 F winters outside conditions. Our freezing temperature
days are few, and it seems that inside humidities rarely
drop below 30 RH as long as outside temps are above 36 - 38
F. Perhaps you might compare your experiences with pianos
that have spent their lifetimes in Seattle with others in
more climatically challanged areas.

On the other hand of all this... there were a whole spiel of
eastern european pianos... DDR and Poland quickly come to
mind, that produced a bunch of really dead sustain, thuddy
pianos.. Zimmerman was a great example of that. For that
matter, some English makes from some years back had similiar
qualities. Perhaps thats where the idea got started.

Whoooo knows ?

Cheers

RicB


--
Richard Brekne
RPT, N.P.T.F.
UiB, Bergen, Norway
mailto:rbrekne@broadpark.no
http://home.broadpark.no/~rbrekne/ricmain.html


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