large uprights

[Delwin D Fandrich]

----- Original Message -----
From: "Stephen Airy" <stephen_airy@yahoo.com>
To: <pianotech@ptg.org>
Sent: November 15, 2000 8:22 AM
Subject: large uprights


> Does anyone know what the largest uprights made in the early 1900s were,
> and how tall they were?  I have noticed that no one is making uprights
over
> 52" tall anymore, and I happen to like the old, tall ones.  The Ricca &
Son
> piano that I have mentioned in earlier posts (not the junky piano, but the
> one with the broken string) is about 56 1/2" tall.  I've heard about 60"
> pianos, and I have been wondering if that's the limit or if there are any
> taller pianos than that that are overstrung, have full plates, 88 keys,
and
> that aren't the "inverted grands" or whatever the ones were in which the
> strings only went down to the keyboard.

One problem with these really tall vertical pianos is the distance between
the top of the key and the strike line.  The taller the piano (i.e., the
further the strike line is from the key) the more difficult it is to get the
action up there.  A simple dowel capstan arrangement can be used up to about
52" (132 cm) or so.  Beyond that it is necessary to use some sort of sticker
mechanism.  Besides adding complexity to the system, pretty soon they get
rather heavy.

At some point, the benefits of the longer bass strings gets over-ruled by
the complexities (and costs) of construction.  Most folks looking for
high-performance pianos tend to prefer grands and are unwilling to pay what
it takes to build a high-performance vertical.  At least in the U.S.

(By the way, I think that at least one maker in Europe is still making a
taller vertical -- About 54" (137 or 138 cm), if memory serves.)



> I have also been wondering what
> might be the maximum string length in such a piano.  Would it be possible,
> say, if the piano is 60" tall and 60" wide, to have a 66 to 68" A1 string
> in such a piano?

Without taking the time to figure it out -- probably.  I went through the
basics of how strings are laid out in vertical pianos in my Journal articles
on the subject.  Take a look at those to see how it's done.



> Also, another thing I'm curious of -- on many uprights I
> see, they leave a lot of room, like maybe a foot or two between the high
> end of the bass bridge and the right side of the cabinet.  Is there a
> reason for putting the bass bridge there, and not moving it over so the
> strings can be 6" to a foot longer?

Yes.  Bridge/soundboard mobility.  The soundboard has to be able to move
fairly freely at the bass end.  If it is placed too close to either the side
of the piano or the bottom, its freedom of motion is restricted.  Things can
be done to overcome this, but it does make construction more complicated.



> Another idea:  in a Spinet, why couldn't they put the bass tuning pins
> along the upper left side running vertically and the bass bridge at the
> opposite corner?  Is it possible to get longer strings that
> way?  Considering, for example, a 37" high 57" wide spinet, I don't think
> it would be impossible to have strings approaching 54 - 57", would
> it?  They are probably only 40" in most spinets these days.

No, it would not be impossible to do this.  Getting an action in there with
real hammers that could actually strike this string at the right spot might
well be, however.  There are a whole bunch of technical/acoustical problems
that would crop up in laying out a workable soundboard and bridge system, as
well.  I can't imagine how you would be able to get a bass/tenor break that
didn't sound like it was coming from two completely different pianos.

As may be, why would you want to do this?  If the idea is to take up less
space, consider that it is usually floor space that is at a premium.
Spinets generally take up more floor space than do their only slightly
larger console/studio counterparts.

I can find no rational excuse for continuing to build spinet pianos.
Regardless of the length of their bass strings.  (I still haven't figured
out why they were introduced in the first place.)

Del