Mathushek spinet grand

[Fred S. Sturm]

    A few months ago, I think it was Michelle Stranges who brought up
the subject of the Mathushek spinet grand. It rang a vague bell with me
at the time, but I couldn't place it. Then a couple weeks ago, a
"regular" customer called me to tune his piano, and there was my spinet
grand (I had tuned it three times before, all at 5 year intervals or
so). It's a fascinating instrument, so I'll describe it for the record.
    I dated it to 1937-8.
    It is the shape of a square grand, though smaller. Not as deep - I
didn't have to stand up and lean over to reach the tuning pins, which
are placed at the "back" of the piano like on a square; not much deeper
than a deep spinet like an Acrosonic of the same general era. And not as
wide - pretty standard piano width, without that extra couple feet or so
on the treble side you generally see on squares.
    Action is standard grand, ie, wippens with repetition levers. There
is some curvature of key length, with bass keys shortest, but not so
pronounced as on 19th century squares, and the longest keys are perhaps
no longer than on a concert grand.
    Layout of the soundboard/bridge assembly is unlike any 19th century
square I ever saw. It resembles an upright laid on its back. IOW, the
treble bridge stretches from treble to bass, with its tenor end on the
player's left, rather than all being to the player's right in a sharply
curved alignment. It is a pretty straight bridge, with a very pronounced
fan of strings to attain the length needed in the tenor (from around 90
degrees in top treble to about 30 degrees in tenor, angle to stretcher.
Lowest tenor tuning pin is around the middle of the back of the piano).
Bass is cross strung, and the bass bridge is parallel (more or less) to
the upper treble part of the treble bridge. There are extensions to the
soundboard added at both ends of the key board. It actually extends over
the last few keys, so that there is a reasonable area of soundboard
beyond the ends of both bass and tenor. (Looks like an elegant furniture
design, with lovely curves on both ends.) Really a very inventive
design, ensuring maximum effective soundboard area, with the bridges
more or less down the center of this small soundboard.
    The result is a very interesting instrument, with a much stronger
tone than one would expect from so small an instrument. Horribly high
inharmonicity (FAC "A" number in the 13 range) - I suspect due to a
pretty low tension scale, chosen so that the piano could be built light
- but it tunes reasonably enough. Certainly something that would fit a
need: small floor space, but real grand action, and passable sound. Just
the thing for the poor struggling musician in a tiny apartment (except
it doesn't have a practice/mute pedal).

Regards,
Fred Sturm
University of New Mexico