Agreed Del, when did pianos stop being pianos and become sforzandos? Rob Edwardsen Delwin D Fandrich wrote: > -----Original Message----- > From: D C AL CODA <kenhale@dcalcoda.com> > To: pianotech@ptg.org <pianotech@ptg.org> > Date: Thursday, July 01, 1999 9:59 AM > Subject: Grotrian 275 grand > > >Hi, > >. . . . . > >The 275 has recently been voiced up quite a bit, with juice, in order to > >give it more power, but it seems to be too brassy/brilliant to the point of > >being described as tinny or harsh. My sense is that in the attempt to gain > >power, it is too close to the edge of being too brilliant. Pianists are > >describing it as "a little too brilliant, tinny, harsh", one pianist who > >travels quite a bit said that Grotrians tend to be too tinny in the > >treble. The piano certainly has more power, but when pushed (played big > >and hard and loud), it gets too brassy too quickly. > > It is a common misconception that one can add more "power" to a piano by > voicing and/or adding lacquer or some other chemical hardener to the hammer. > None of these processes actually add any power to the acoustic output of the > piano. They simply change the make up of the energy spectrum set up in the > string. That is, the energy spectrum set up in a string by an impact from a > relatively soft hammer will have relatively more energy in the lower > partials relatively less in the higher partials. An impact by a harder > hammer will set up more energy in the higher partials and somewhat less in > the lower partials. The actual amount of sound energy produced by either > won't alter much, if at all. > > The harder hammer will appear to produce a louder sound only because the > amount of energy in the initial impact sound will be greater and more of it > will be in a higher frequency range. Since energy in the higher partials > transfers into the soundboard and dissipates at a more rapid rate, this > change comes at the expense of sustain. It also comes at the expense of > tone quality. So you pays your money and you takes your choice -- there > ain't no such thing as a free lunch here. > > In general, the tone quality of modern pianos has become harder and brighter > over the past couple of decades. In part this is because it is easier to > build pianos in very high production this way. Since it is an axium of > marketing strategy that when one is confronted with a "bug" or a design > defect the best solution is to call it a "feature" and raise the price, a > great deal of marketing effort has gone into convincing the piano world that > this is all a very good thing. Sadly, this doesn't really make it so and > much musicality has been lost along the way. > > >So, at least a couple of my questions are: > > > >Has anyone been successful in getting this piano to be more powerful (along > >the lines of the Steinway), without overstepping the boundary into > tinny-ville? > > Yes, this could be done. All you would have to do is change the stringing > scale to match that of the Steinway, replace the soundboard with one > designed and shaped like that of the Steinway, install and shape and heavily > lacquer/acrylic a set of Steinway hammers, etc. You might have to do a bit > of rim work and plate work as well. It might be simpler and cheaper in the > long run to simply buy a Steinway. > > >Is the Grotrian better at that round-mellow (European) tone, rather than > >trying to compete with the Steinway sound? How's that for a generality (but > >it does seem to me that the Steinway Concert Grand is the benchmark for > >many people's ears:-)? > > Yes. In my opinion at least, it will be better to let the Grotrian be a > Grotrian and spend your effort trying to educate the pianist to appreciate > the value of tonal subtlies. And as far as the Steinway Concert Grand being > the benchmark for piano sound...what year were you refering to? The tone > quality of the SCG being produced today bears little resemblence to that of > just a few years ago and even less to that of some decades back. It would > appear that these pianos are now trying to emulate the hard, brassy sound > that the marketing people seem to like so much. Unfortunately those tastes > don't always have much to do with music. > > -- ddf
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