Steinway Crown

[Les Smith]

Hi, David.

Here, perhaps, is a somewhat different take on the minimal crown found
in the soundboard of that Steinway "M". First of all, I consider your
concern about the amount of sustain, or rather the lack of it, import-
ant. I don't think that it's safe merely to "assume" that WD-40, or
whatever is the culprit and that new strings, alone, are the answer. I
think your idea of replacing an old string with a new one, and seeing
what affect it has on the sustain is a good one. However, I would take
the idea a step further and try replacing, say, three of them--one in the
tenor above the wound strings, one in the treble and one in the higher
treble--all an octave or more apart. SAVE THE OLD STRINGS. After you have
conducted your test, remove the new strings, re-install the old ones,
bring them up to pitch and the piano willl once again be playable until
the owner makes up his mind about what he's going to do. The new strings
won't consantly be going flat on him.

You don't have to file the hammers, because you can check the difference
in sustain between the old and new strings by merely plucking them with
your nail, or a guitar pick, or whatever. Check to make sure that both
the old and new strings are firmly seated on the bridge. What you're
listening for is a noticable improvement in the amount of sustain. If you
can't hear one, new strings might not be the total answer.

I ran into the worst new Steinway I ever saw, tone-wise about 20 years
ago. It was an "L", one year old. The lack of sustain was so bad that
I couldn't hear the partials to set the temperament. At first I thought
the dampers might be mis-regulated so much that the felts were still
touching and muting the strings. Such was not the case. I then double-
checked to make sure that the strings were firmly seated on the bridges.
They were. Lastly, I went under the piano and checked the soundboard
crown. There was none. The board was, as far as I could determine, flat.
Now, to be fair, it was mid-winter and the heat had been on for a while,
but there still. in my opinion, should have been measurable crown in the
board. A subsequent check of bearing at the bridges, showed a small, but
nevertheless measurable amount. Nevertheless, the lack of sustain through-
out the entire compass of the instrument was a MAJOR fault. Not only did
it make accurate tuning incredibly difficult, but it's impact on the
tone-quality and over-all sound of the instrument was highly determental.
It was the worst newer Steinway I have ever heard.

Like you, I am constantly hearing people tell me that crown really isn't
so important, because so and so just rebuilt an old Steinway, the board
has no measurable crown and yet it sounds GREAT! My response to this is
always, that may be true NOW, but how long is it going to last-- a year,
two, ten, six-months?  Under conditions of high humidity a board can ex-
hibit measurable crown and adequate down-bearing and the instrument sound
good, and at the same time, that same board placed under low-humidity con-
ditions, can lose it's crown, much of it's down-bearing and its tone-
quality will suffer accordingly.

Right now, I would think that the first thing you would want to check out
is whether or not replacing the old strings with new, is going to bring
about a noticable improvement in sustain time. Merely adequate, if you're
rebuilding a vintage "M", is not good enough. At least in my book. Also,
ask yourself what the humidity conditions are under which you are meas-
uring that soundboard's crown. If the humidity right now is say %50-%60
and you're only able to measure 1/16 of an inch of crown in the board,
I'd be worried about it's long term viability. Rebuilding the instru-
ment with the old board, probably will get you through a five year war-
ranty on the rebuild, but it sure as heck isn't going to last anywhere
near another 80 years!

What to do? Explain the situation to the piano's owner, and give him two
estimaates, one for rebuilding the instrument using the old board and one
for rebuilding it with a new board. That makes the decision HIS CHOICE.
If he asks you what YOUR recommendation is, I would vote for replacing the
board. In my opinion a 1/16 of an inch crown in an 80 year-old soundboard
is not enough upon which to stake your reputation. This just represents
one old tech's opinion, of course!

Les Smith
lessmith@buffnet.net





On Mon, 31 Mar 1997, David ilvedson wrote:

> Dear List,
>
> I am bidding on an Steinway M rebuild, built 1918.  Bearing is about
> perfect, whatever that means.  Not too much maybe about a nickel
> overall.  My concern is the crown.  It has minimal crown taken
> with a thread under the board along the longest rib.  Maybe a
> 16th" in the middle.  The board is pristine, in that it has no
> cracks and I might add it has spent most of its life in
> California.  Normally I go by the tone when evaluating a board.
> This piano has had the plate sprayed with the strings in.  Also
> WD 40 or such has been sprayed on the strings.  The sustain is
> OK but not great.  My feeling is the oily residue is the cuplrit
> for lack of sustain.  I can play forte and the piano responds.
> I know what a flat board sounds like, a blown speaker sort of.
> You can push it but it won't respond.  I could change a string
> around 52 and clean it up and see what the tone is like but I
> would probably have to file the hammer etc.?  Is this the time
> to replace the board?  My gut feeling is it will be a nice
> piano.
>
> Thanks in advance...
>
> David ilvedson
> Pacifica, CA
>
>