<!doctype html public "-//W3C//DTD W3 HTML//EN"> <html xmlns:v="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:vml" = xmlns:o="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" = xmlns:w="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:word" = xmlns:st1="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" = xmlns="http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40"> <head> <META HTTP-EQUIV="Content-Type" CONTENT="text/html; = charset=iso-8859-1"> <meta name=ProgId content=Word.Document> <meta name=Generator content="Microsoft Word 10"> <meta name=Originator content="Microsoft Word 10"> <link rel=File-List href="cid:filelist.xml@01C56393.65C615B0"> <title>First on-line images of the Overs-Kawai 200 grand piano</title> <o:SmartTagType = namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="PersonName"/>  <style>  </style>  </head> <body lang=EN-US link=blue vlink=purple = style='tab-interval:.5in'> <div class=Section1> <p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span = style='font-size: 10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>Ron:<o:p></o:p></span></font></p> <p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span = style='font-size: 10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p> <p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span = style='font-size: 10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>I’d be curious to know (if = it’s not proprietary) how you altered the rib scale design in order to = produce longer sustain with smaller dynamic range.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p> <p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span = style='font-size: 10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p> <div> <p><font size=2 color=navy face="Times New Roman"><span = style='font-size:10.0pt; color:navy;mso-no-proof:yes'>David Love<br> </span></font><st1:PersonName><font size=2 color=navy><span = style='font-size: = 10.0pt;color:navy;mso-no-proof:yes'>davidlovepianos@comcast.net</span></f= ont></st1:PersonName><font size=2 color=navy><span = style='font-size:10.0pt;color:navy;mso-no-proof:yes'> = </span></font><o:p></o:p></p> </div> <p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'><font size=2 = face=Tahoma><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Tahoma'>-----Original = Message-----<br> <b><span style='font-weight:bold'>From:</span></b> = pianotech-bounces@ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces@ptg.org] <b><span = style='font-weight:bold'>On Behalf Of </span></b>Overs Pianos<br> <b><span style='font-weight:bold'>Sent:</span></b> Wednesday, May 25, = 2005 8:39 AM<br> <b><span style='font-weight:bold'>To:</span></b> Pianotech<br> <b><span style='font-weight:bold'>Cc:</span></b> Martin Cop<br> <b><span style='font-weight:bold'>Subject:</span></b> First on-line = images of the Overs-Kawai 200 grand piano</span></font></p> <p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'><font size=3 = face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p> <div> <p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'><font size=3 = face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Hi all,<o:p></o:p></span></font></p> </div> <div> <p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'><font size=3 = face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p> </div> <div> <p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'><font size=3 = face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>I've just come through a couple of busy = months. The last couple weeks I've put in over 80 hours on tools per week, to get = the Yamaha CF rebuild out the door for its first concert tomorrow. Before = that, we've been building a new piano out of a Kawai KG5 case and plate, a = commission from pianist Gerard Willems, the concert pianist who recorded the = Beethoven piano works on the Stuart piano. The Overs-Kawai is for his home studio. = We are prepared to build further examples of the Overs-Kawai 200 for FOB = A$60,000 (plus 10% GST for local buyers).<o:p></o:p></span></font></p> </div> <div> <p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'><font size=3 = face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p> </div> <div> <p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'><font size=3 = face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>I'm pleased with the outcome of this design = exercise, as I wanted to create a piano with a long-ish sustain and a smaller = dynamic range, to produce an instrument more suited to a smaller studio. I = believe the power of our 225 piano is way too much for a small studio. I also wanted = to produce a studio instrument with a more economical finish than the = standard high gloss finish. After experimenting with a number of colour mixes I = arrived at a dark green (somewhat darker than British racing green). A = semi-gloss two pack polyurethane in the green was sprayed off the = gun.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p> </div> <div> <p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'><font size=3 = face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p> </div> <div> <p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'><font size=3 = face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>The new 200 cm piano also features an Overs = action, two new struts from the plate to the belly rail (originally there were = none), a large sound board cut-off and an I rib board. There is no treble cut-off = in this piano since it originally had a relatively small sound board area = out behind the bridge in the top treble bridge section. The bridges and = scale are a new design, with a nominal bridge height of 34 mm and a width of 35 mm. = All bridge caps are multi-laminated maple veneer glued up with West = System.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p> </div> <div> <p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'><font size=3 = face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p> </div> <div> <p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'><font size=3 = face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Images can now be found = at;<o:p></o:p></span></font></p> </div> <div> <p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'><font size=3 = face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p> </div> <div> <p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'><font size=1 = color=black face="Lucida Grande"><span = style='font-size:7.5pt;font-family:"Lucida Grande"; color:black'>http://members.optusnet.com.au/ronovers/overskawai1.jpg</spa= n></font><o:p></o:p></p> </div> <div> <p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'><font size=3 = face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p> </div> <div> <p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'><font size=3 = face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>The sound board is made from solid sitka = spruce and is fully rib crowned and supported. It is darker in colour because we = haven't bleached it. The bass corner cutt-off is made from a hardwood-ply = laminated sheet which has a softer rock maple veneer top and bottom. The inside = surface of the outer rim was originally black, but the veneer underneath was = undamaged and with quite a nice figure, so we stained it and finished it with acid = cat lacquer at the same time as we sprayed the board top and bridges. One of = the nice things I like about grands where the pin block is removable, is = that you can respray the inner rim, sound board and action bay with a clear = finish coating in the one operation. This approach allows us to avoid the = typical 'straw-broom-finish' which pervades most action bays. I remain = unconvinced of the alleged superior tuning stability of those designs in which the pin = block and stretcher rail is built integral with the case. I really like the = Kawai KG6 as a shell from which to build a decent small grand (especially the = earlier examples with the oak rims and back beams). I believe these instruments, = when rebuilt appropriately, will outclass a new S&S model = B.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p> </div> <div> <p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'><font size=3 = face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p> </div> <div> <p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'><font size=1 = color=black face="Lucida Grande"><span = style='font-size:7.5pt;font-family:"Lucida Grande"; color:black'>http://members.optusnet.com.au/ronovers/overskawai2.jpg</spa= n></font><o:p></o:p></p> </div> <div> <p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'><font size=3 = face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p> </div> <div> <p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'><font size=3 = face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>This image shows the treble string sections. = There are no specific front duplex lengths in this design. Any noisy duplex = segments get a couple of drops of glue along the duplex segment to detune the noise. = The typical Kawai half-round-chromed rear stringing pillow has been = substituted with a hardwood antarctic beech strip, which is profiled in thickness to achieve the desired downbearing settings (I prefer to set the = downbearing by varying the stringing pillow height instead of varying the bridge height = - this is because I want a certain bridge stiffness to avoid tonal 'dips' = between the sound board ribs). The stringing pillows are covered with green felt to slightly dampen the back scale activity, without the need of a listing = strip. The serial no. first section, "OK1", represents Overs-Kawai = s/n 1, while the 662460 is the serial number of the original = shell.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p> </div> <div> <p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'><font size=3 = face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p> </div> <div> <p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'><font size=1 = color=black face="Lucida Grande"><span = style='font-size:7.5pt;font-family:"Lucida Grande"; color:black'>http://members.optusnet.com.au/ronovers/overskawai3.jpg</spa= n></font><o:p></o:p></p> </div> <div> <p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'><font size=3 = face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p> </div> <div> <p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'><font size=3 = face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>This image from the bent side shows the green = outer finish a little lighter than it is. The camera flash washed the = foreground a bit. The plate is close to original with the exception that the strut = junction at the bass/treble break is re-profiled to improve its aesthetics, and = the plate perimeter bolts and set bolts are all chromed dome nuts, similar = to the Overs 225 pianos, with a Baldwin style plate mounting system. The capo = bars received their usual re-profiling and hardening. Also notice that the = strut between the agraffe and first capo section has been ground to allow = bridge clearance. The higher 34 mm bridge, combined with the much smaller crown = radius causes the bridges to sit much higher in the piano, particularly in the = mid sections. The stringing pillow heights in the tenor sections are often = as high as 10 mm. Ideally, a crown in the treble hitch plate would help the = setup where high-crowned replacement sound boards are fitted. The original crown in = the belly rail is removed, prior to fitting the sound board cutoff, to = slightly reduce the final bridge height in the = middle.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p> </div> <div> <p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'><font size=3 = face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p> </div> <div> <p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'><font size=1 = color=black face="Lucida Grande"><span = style='font-size:7.5pt;font-family:"Lucida Grande"; color:black'>http://members.optusnet.com.au/ronovers/overskawai4.jpg</spa= n></font><o:p></o:p></p> </div> <div> <p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'><font size=3 = face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p> </div> <div> <p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'><font size=3 = face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>This image shows the new bass bridge design. = The suspended bridge is now thankfully gone, and the speaking length of A1 is = shortened by 20 mm to allow for a longer back scale. Similarly, the hitch pins for the = singles have been moved back so that A1's hitch is as close as possible to the = back of the plate. The original piano had an A1 free-backscale-segment length of = only 85 mm. This new configuration yields a free length of 135 mm at A1. With = the double looped german eyes, this piano is now producing a very acceptable = low bass for a 200 cm piano. The bass cut-off can be seen meeting with the = bass side about a foot (300 mm) back from the hinge cut-out. The darker wood moulding between the sound board and cut-off area is antarctic beech. = The plate is fitted using the Baldwin style mounting system, so the visible hole = in plate perimeter-flange is for accessing the plate height adjustment screw, = prior to fitting the perimeter bolts.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p> </div> <div> <p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'><font size=3 = face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p> </div> <div> <p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'><font size=1 = color=black face="Lucida Grande"><span = style='font-size:7.5pt;font-family:"Lucida Grande"; color:black'>http://members.optusnet.com.au/ronovers/overskawai5.jpg</spa= n></font><o:p></o:p></p> </div> <div> <p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'><font size=3 = face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p> </div> <div> <p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'><font size=3 = face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Well that's it for the this piano for now. = The lid and fall has to be sprayed with top coat yet. Should be all completed in a = couple of weeks.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p> </div> <div> <p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'><font size=3 = face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p> </div> <div> <p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'><font size=3 = face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>The Yamaha CF which we rebuilt for Dubbo = Council went out on Tuesday. The sound board re-crowning was very successful. This = piano now has lots of sound board crown and it sunk out no more than a standard = new sound board during the stringing process. The re-whatevered instrument seems = to have lost its characteristic Yamaha-CF-light-tone, with the modified board = yielding a much darker tone. While the plate was re-installed into the case to = the same height as original, the cast stringing pillows had to be packed up by = around 5 mm to achieve the desired down bearing settings. This indicates that the = crown of the restored board was considerably higher than when the piano was = new. Notably, the tone in the killer octave area was most satisfactory. We used new = CF3 hammers for this repair and I must say I'm totally struck on the quality = of the Wurzen felt. Thank you Andr� for bringing this hammer felt to our = attention. The tonal balance over the compass of the piano was quite remarkably = even, even before any voicing was undertaken. I've taken images of the re-crowning process, but they were taken with my conventional SLR camera. The = Overs-Kawai images are the first digital images we've taken. I may post a report to = the list regarding the re-crowning process once I get the images scanned. I = predict that a lot more re-crowning jobs will be undertaken in instances where = the panel is not split.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p> </div> <div> <p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'><font size=3 = face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p> </div> <div> <p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'><font size=3 = face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Ron O.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p> </div> <div> <p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'><font size=3 = face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p> </div> <div> <p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'><font size=3 = face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p> </div> <pre style='margin-left:.5in'><font size=2 face="Courier = New"><span style='font-size:10.0pt'><x-sigsep>-- <o:p></o:p></span></font></pre> <div> <p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'><b><font size=4 = color=blue face="Times New Roman"><span = style='font-size:13.5pt;color:blue;font-weight: bold'></x-sigsep>OVERS PIANOS - SYDNEY</span></font></b><o:p></o:p></p> </div> <div> <p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'><i><font size=3 = color=black face="Times New Roman"><span = style='font-size:12.0pt;color:black;font-style: italic'>   </span></font><font color=blue><span style='color:blue'>Grand Piano Manufacturers</span></font></i><font color=black><span style='color:black'><br> _______________________</span></font><o:p></o:p></p> </div> <div> <p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'><font size=1 = color=black face="Times New Roman"><span = style='font-size:7.5pt;color:black'><br> </span></font><font color=black><span style='color:black'>Web http://overspianos.com.au</span></font><o:p></o:p></p> </div> <div> <p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'><font size=3 = color=black face="Times New Roman"><span = style='font-size:12.0pt;color:black'>mailto:ron@overspianos.com.au<br> _______________________</span></font><o:p></o:p></p> </div> </div> </body> </html>