[CAUT] Piano truck acoustics

[Zeno Wood]

I remember about ten years ago Steinway was playing around with a
lower lid on a concert instrument.  Here's the NY Times link:

http://www.nytimes.com/1997/12/08/arts/not-even-practice-gets-a-2-lid-piano-into-carnegie.html?sec=&spon=&pagewanted=1

No picture, though.

-Zeno Wood


On Fri, Mar 20, 2009 at 6:14 PM, Andrew Anderson
<andrew at andersonmusic.com> wrote:
> Ric,
> Besides grounding the stage truck so that the big "springing" arms don't
> absorb a significant per-centage of the pianist's and piano's energy there
> is the "Under-Lid" to consider.  Seems that I heard about that on this list.
>  Someone built a rolling box with one side low, and the other side up to the
> bottom of the piano.  The box was rolled under the piano from the lid hinge
> side and reflects the pianos energy out to the audience as well.
>
> Perhaps someone here is the one who mentioned this and can send us some
> pictures...?
>
> Andrew Anderson
>
> On Mar 20, 2009, at 3:48 PM, Richard Brekne wrote:
>
>> I've had this idea for years now of trying to build a special acoustic
>> platform for stage grands with acoustics designed to accent and project
>> lower frequencies ranges of the piano.... dvs 1500 hz downwards.  There is
>> no doubt lost acoustic energy that one way or the other either spins out
>> into oblivion or gets randomly distributed by whatever connection to
>> whatever floor material there is.  Since the energy is obviously there to
>> begin with... and since we are always looking for ways of making that nine
>> footer project bigger in that 3000-5000 seat hall.... why not try and make
>> use of it intelligently ?
>>
>> One of those things that is no doubt beyond my ken to begin with, and I
>> will never have time to fool with anyways... but keeps hitting my curiosity
>> lobe.
>>
>> Cheers
>> RicB
>>
>>
>>  I'm wondering if anyone has any thoughts on the acoustic qualities of
>>  a piano truck versus having rubber or metal casters.  We have a
>>  Steinway D (on a truck) in our recital hall that sounds big when
>>  you're sitting at it, but doesn't sound as big when you're 30 feet
>>  back, in the audience.  But the Yamaha with big honking metal casters
>>  doesn't sound as big up close, but sounds bigger from the audience.
>>  Thoughts?
>>
>>  Or am I barking up the wrong tree?
>>
>>  Thanks,
>>  Zeno Wood
>>  Brooklyn College
>>
>>
>>
>
>
>