> Date: Tue, 01 Apr 1997 01:59:48 -0500 (EST) > From: Les Smith <lessmith@buffnet.net> > Subject: Re: Steinway Crown > To: pianotech@byu.edu > Reply-to: pianotech@byu.edu Hi Les, Thanks for your info. I got the rebuild job and at this time will be using the old board. When I go to destring in his house, before the piano goes to the finisher, I will try changing some strings and also cleaning up a few unisons with paint thinner to remove the oily residue. Where I and the customer live is near the ocean in California...Pacifica to be exact. The climate here is so stable I am relatively unconcerned about failure of the board in the next twenty years. Who really knows. Anyway, thanks again for your thoughts...I keep it all in mind! David ilvedson Pacifica, CA > 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 > > > > > > > ilvey, RPT Pacifica, CA
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