[pianotech] square grand sound clips and pics

[Terry Farrell]

So Joe - if you look at my post about 4 minutes after my original, you will find working sound clips. Did you find them? Did you listen to them? I'd like to get your comments on the sound clips.

Didn't know about the wire. What kind do you use? IMHO, the Mapes Gold sounds great! Pretty much all the slow dampening is in the bass - not the plain wire. I think the piano has a lovely warm sound to it.

Thanks for the compliments. Yes, I like the art work the gal (art student at local university) I hired did - the original art work in the bass area was really tacky.

Ivory keys. I didn't do anything to them - they are original. They are yellowed and some are cracked at the front edges - none are chipped. When the owner accumulates some more $$ she will have me go to town on the keys with AcriliKey.

Terry Farrell

On Feb 10, 2013, at 12:55 PM, Joseph Garrett wrote:

> Terry the Ferrell said:
> "The first sound clip is really directed to Joe Garret, with the question:
> Is the amount of damper leakage heard in these sound clips appropriate for
> this type of instrument? I know you say that the damper system on American
> square grands won't cut off like on a modern grand, and these certainly
> don't - but they do stop after a couple seconds - and it's only the bass
> strings that really make the real slow damping (both when they are played
> and that they will ring sympathetically). In the first clip a 10 year old
> Yamaha C3 in good condition (off a cruise ship) is played also for
> comparison.
> 
> The second clip is directed to Ron Nossaman who re-did the string scale.
> Bass strings are by J. D. Grant and plain wire is Mapes Gold. Scale sounds
> very nice to me. :-) Sorry for the couple high treble notes out of tune.
> :-("
> 
> Terry,
> I am unable to open the sound clips! Please send in a single email,
> privately. Thanks. As for the damper "efficiency", w/o even hearing it, I
> will tell you that is the way it was INTENDED. However, the use of Mapes
> Gold wire will exacerbate that in the mid treble, as well, since it is TOO
> HARD/BRITTLE. I definately would NEVER use that wire on an old instrument.
> It is completely opposite of the wire orignally used. Tsk! Tsk!<G>) That is
> what happens when a "modern guy" attempts something really "olde"<G>
> However the rest of the work looks really well done. The color of the plate
> is a bit too silver, but a small point. (Probably the picture
> media/computer raster/whatever.Those plates were guilded using varnish,
> which gave a "soft" colored gold. Most Steinway plate color had a bit of
> burnt umber in them as well. The artwork is exquisite! Just like it should
> be. All brass appears to be highly polished and hopefully lacqered.<G> I'm
> curious about the key tops. Is that plastic I'm seeing!????? I hope not. 
> I'm hoping to figure out some way to  get those sound bites to work. As for
> the out of tune unisons in the high treble....well, it's "authentic".<G>
> Best
> Joe
> 
> 
> Joe Garrett, R.P.T.
> Captain of the Tool Police
> Squares R I
> http://gpianoworks.com/
>