New From Rodgers' Piano: http://www.pianorestoring.com/frames.htm
Christmas finally arrives for us in pianoland. My step-son and his new (drop dead gorgeous) wife arrive tomorrow and we finally get to have our first Christmas celebration with all the family together, including the ever-lovely Savannah who enjoys Christmas for the first time this year as a full fledged member of the family (as if we didn't feel like she was already anyway!) Amazing what a little patience can do for ya!
Everyone in Blogland have a great New Years. I'll be having a great Christmas!
Thursday, December 29, 2011
What a Christmas Present
New from Rodgers' Piano: http://www.pianorestoring.com/frames.htm
A good friend gave me the coolest present this Christmas. It's a camera with a USB connection. I can use it to examine the insides of guitars, deep recesses of pianos and (although the instructions warn against it) I can't help but wonder what other wonders I could discover with it!
Thanks Ron H. a great new addition to this piano guys extensive collection of tools. Or did I say toys....
A good friend gave me the coolest present this Christmas. It's a camera with a USB connection. I can use it to examine the insides of guitars, deep recesses of pianos and (although the instructions warn against it) I can't help but wonder what other wonders I could discover with it!
Thanks Ron H. a great new addition to this piano guys extensive collection of tools. Or did I say toys....
How old did you say he was?!!!
New from: Rodgers' Piano @ http://www.pianorestoring.com/frames.htm
By now, I'm sure many folks out there have heard of Adriann Mann. A Kiwi teen boy who built his own piano. I have been rebuilding these things for over two decades and even I stand in awe of much of what this kid has done. I'm sure that most average piano enthusiasts won't get the real cool aspects of his piano and so I thought I'd blog about them myself.
First of all, why is this piano so long? Was he out to set some sort of record? According to Adriann, he was not. But a lesson in the physics of vibrating strings will show you that the lowest frequencies on a modern piano have to be produced by weighting the string down in order to slow it because of increased "inertia." Adriann, for reasons of necessity or choice, (you'd have to ask him) made his piano completely out of plain music wire with no special bass strings with extra windings on them. Therefore, the piano had to be incredibly long. He actually left a few notes off the end. If he had put the last few notes on the bottom of the piano, he would have had to increase its length another, what, four feet...
Adriann faced a trade off. He's so smart, he may have known this from the beginning but who knows. By using plain wire, he made for a piano whose low notes do not have the complex, often problematic "overtone" problems that wound or weighted strings can make. So his bass will sound cleaner, purer and be easier to tune than any other. What's the trade off? If made properly, weighted (or wound) strings have a great deal more heft and, therefore, ability to pump the piano's sound board. In other words the concert grand with wound strings will be louder. His piano has lots of power, but a long piano with wound strings would have even more.
Still, I've heard this piano played at this URL:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6PI8RYIeypM
There are other Utube presentations about this piano but this one is the one to see if you really want to "see" the piano. Adriann solved a ton of problems that such long strings produce with very clever ideas. He didn't have access to Steinway's multi-million dollar rim presses to make the piano. He had 2"x4" lumber from the local lumber yard. Yet, he made a solid case that helps produce the sound despite its lack of hardness and construction rigidity. He made a plate that should be strong enough to hold the tension of three pianos like his and I think that little bugger actually shaped, cut and welded it up himself. Good Grief!!!
He repurposed sound boards and keys from other pianos and reworked them so they would function in his piano. He had to make the keys extra, extra long because the plate had to be made to accommodate those long strings. Piano hammers have to hit the strings at the same point on all the strings. So if middle C hits the string at 1/8 of its length, then the lowest note on the piano has to hit that string at 1/8 of its length. That means moving the strings and the action around until it all lines up. He could have made each key a different length in order to simplify the way the plate and strings were put together. They used to do that very thing on old square grand pianos. But that was not in his thinking since it really does make every key feel different than the others.
Those long keys had to have extra wood put on them so they would be rigid and that made for keys that were heavy, long and with a lot of "inertia" again. It probably does not play as lightly and responsiviley as many of the cutting edge designs people like Wayne Stewart and myself are developing. But who cares. It's still incredible! This kid is going places.
Adriann. If I could take you in and complete your training I would be honored. You have a future in pianos ahead of you. I only hope you maintain your interest because I suspect your next project will be a miniaturized nuclear reactor to run your family's home electric from!
By now, I'm sure many folks out there have heard of Adriann Mann. A Kiwi teen boy who built his own piano. I have been rebuilding these things for over two decades and even I stand in awe of much of what this kid has done. I'm sure that most average piano enthusiasts won't get the real cool aspects of his piano and so I thought I'd blog about them myself.
First of all, why is this piano so long? Was he out to set some sort of record? According to Adriann, he was not. But a lesson in the physics of vibrating strings will show you that the lowest frequencies on a modern piano have to be produced by weighting the string down in order to slow it because of increased "inertia." Adriann, for reasons of necessity or choice, (you'd have to ask him) made his piano completely out of plain music wire with no special bass strings with extra windings on them. Therefore, the piano had to be incredibly long. He actually left a few notes off the end. If he had put the last few notes on the bottom of the piano, he would have had to increase its length another, what, four feet...
Adriann faced a trade off. He's so smart, he may have known this from the beginning but who knows. By using plain wire, he made for a piano whose low notes do not have the complex, often problematic "overtone" problems that wound or weighted strings can make. So his bass will sound cleaner, purer and be easier to tune than any other. What's the trade off? If made properly, weighted (or wound) strings have a great deal more heft and, therefore, ability to pump the piano's sound board. In other words the concert grand with wound strings will be louder. His piano has lots of power, but a long piano with wound strings would have even more.
Still, I've heard this piano played at this URL:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6PI8RYIeypM
There are other Utube presentations about this piano but this one is the one to see if you really want to "see" the piano. Adriann solved a ton of problems that such long strings produce with very clever ideas. He didn't have access to Steinway's multi-million dollar rim presses to make the piano. He had 2"x4" lumber from the local lumber yard. Yet, he made a solid case that helps produce the sound despite its lack of hardness and construction rigidity. He made a plate that should be strong enough to hold the tension of three pianos like his and I think that little bugger actually shaped, cut and welded it up himself. Good Grief!!!
He repurposed sound boards and keys from other pianos and reworked them so they would function in his piano. He had to make the keys extra, extra long because the plate had to be made to accommodate those long strings. Piano hammers have to hit the strings at the same point on all the strings. So if middle C hits the string at 1/8 of its length, then the lowest note on the piano has to hit that string at 1/8 of its length. That means moving the strings and the action around until it all lines up. He could have made each key a different length in order to simplify the way the plate and strings were put together. They used to do that very thing on old square grand pianos. But that was not in his thinking since it really does make every key feel different than the others.
Those long keys had to have extra wood put on them so they would be rigid and that made for keys that were heavy, long and with a lot of "inertia" again. It probably does not play as lightly and responsiviley as many of the cutting edge designs people like Wayne Stewart and myself are developing. But who cares. It's still incredible! This kid is going places.
Adriann. If I could take you in and complete your training I would be honored. You have a future in pianos ahead of you. I only hope you maintain your interest because I suspect your next project will be a miniaturized nuclear reactor to run your family's home electric from!
Sunday, May 15, 2011
Just how long do pianos really live anyway?
Rodgers' Piano @ http://www.pianorestoring.com/frames.htm
Assuming that your piano is kept in an environment that has reasonable levels of humidity, heat and air purity a piano can last practically forever. The humidity should be between 30% and 60% with no exposures outside that range for any length of time and only for occasional brief occurances (like moving). The heat a piano can tolerate can be quite extraordinary provided it is only subjected to extremes for limited periods of time and limited occurances. Normally the piano should live between 60 degrees and 80 degrees all year 'round. As to the air, coal dust that was common in the 1800's and early 1900's was horrible on pianos and organs of all kinds. Now our air is cleaner but cigar and cigarette smoke can be very toxic to a piano and can create problems that can only be remedied with rebuilding.
Finally, your piano needs to be tuned by a good tuner at least once a year and you should do what he/she tells you is needed for your piano promptly upon being told. The tuner is your friend and is eager to preserve your investment and keep your costs down (at least the honest ones of us do this.) Keep in mind that a piano of traditional construction will need to have its pin block, action parts, bridges and sound board replaced one a century but even better if done once every 50 to 80 years. The core of the piano will live practically forever provided the "perishable" components are kept refreshed and in good order and the core is given the living conditions described above.
I'm in possession of an 1885 Chickering concert grand piano myself. This piano has definitely spent time outside the proper limits. But the core is still sound so I can do with it all I wish with the expectation of having a piano that is better than it was when it was new after I'm done. See future blogs to learn what I do with this special and very old piece. Actually, although I call it "very old" there are many instruments out there that make mine look like a spring chicken. But I acquired what I have because I wanted a piece with bones I could do things with that I had in mind. Watch for future installments about this piano in the future.
Assuming that your piano is kept in an environment that has reasonable levels of humidity, heat and air purity a piano can last practically forever. The humidity should be between 30% and 60% with no exposures outside that range for any length of time and only for occasional brief occurances (like moving). The heat a piano can tolerate can be quite extraordinary provided it is only subjected to extremes for limited periods of time and limited occurances. Normally the piano should live between 60 degrees and 80 degrees all year 'round. As to the air, coal dust that was common in the 1800's and early 1900's was horrible on pianos and organs of all kinds. Now our air is cleaner but cigar and cigarette smoke can be very toxic to a piano and can create problems that can only be remedied with rebuilding.
Finally, your piano needs to be tuned by a good tuner at least once a year and you should do what he/she tells you is needed for your piano promptly upon being told. The tuner is your friend and is eager to preserve your investment and keep your costs down (at least the honest ones of us do this.) Keep in mind that a piano of traditional construction will need to have its pin block, action parts, bridges and sound board replaced one a century but even better if done once every 50 to 80 years. The core of the piano will live practically forever provided the "perishable" components are kept refreshed and in good order and the core is given the living conditions described above.
I'm in possession of an 1885 Chickering concert grand piano myself. This piano has definitely spent time outside the proper limits. But the core is still sound so I can do with it all I wish with the expectation of having a piano that is better than it was when it was new after I'm done. See future blogs to learn what I do with this special and very old piece. Actually, although I call it "very old" there are many instruments out there that make mine look like a spring chicken. But I acquired what I have because I wanted a piece with bones I could do things with that I had in mind. Watch for future installments about this piano in the future.
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What my piano looked like when it was new
What my old piano looked like when new
What my Chickering looks like today
She will sing again!
One New Leg from my 1885 Chickering Concert Grand
A new leg for an old girl