[CAUT] Voicing

[keenas business]

I thank all of you for your time and responses.  I am not touching the
piano until this Friday morning, the day of the concert.

The dampers, hammers and strings and action are in mint condition.  The
piano is being compared to a six foot Kawai that was being played during
the first practice.  The artists are aware that the tonal qualities of
the rich sounding 9' Steinway are quite different from the bright Kawai.

The performance hall holds approximately 200 people. Climate control is
not consistent and everyone is aware of this dilemma.

The Artist performing is the Artist-in-Residence and is quite amenable
to any improvement that can be made, if possible. It is only used for
Classical music by musicians such as those who play with the BSO.

I am not afforded the opportunity to voice as many instruments as I
would like to and thus my reason for asking for ideas to broaden my
knowledge.

During dry season last year the upper tenor/lower treble area needed to
be brighter and I resolved that situation.

This season has posed a new problem.  We had a very damp summer.

Thanks again. I let you all know what happens with the situation.

Keena Keel
> -----Original Message-----
> From: caut-bounces@ptg.org [mailto:caut-bounces@ptg.org] On Behalf Of
> Horace Greeley
> Sent: Saturday, September 11, 2004 11:52 PM
> To: College and University Technicians
> Subject: RE: [CAUT] Voicing
> 
> 
> Hi, Keena,
> Thanks again.

Keena Keel

> At 06:19 AM 9/11/2004, you wrote:
> 
> Judging from the time of your message, chances are that you have
already
> had to do what you had to do.
> 
> 
> >I have to tune a concert on a Hamburg Steinway D.  The artist would
like
> >to have the bass hammers brighter but not louder.
> >
> >Any thoughts appreciated.
> 
> There are a number of different ways to approach this question; and,
(I
> hope) you will get a number of different answers.
> 
> While no one system is necessarily better than another, there are some
> that
> are considered to be more traditionally accepted, which leave the
hammers
> more susceptible to future work, the instrument more versatile, and
> produce
> better short term effects.
> 
> If things are at a point at which you can share some additional
> information, that might be helpful in making more relevant
> suggestions.  The kinds of things I am thinking about here have to do
with
> the size and nature of the hall (How live?  How dead?  A/C?  Overall
> climate?, age and overall condition of the instrument
> (Strings?  Dampers?  Action?), general major usage of the instrument
> (Classical?  Pop? etc.)...in other words, help to create an overall
> understanding of what the situation might be, and how this specific
piano
> fits into it.
> 
> If you are still on the horns of your dilemma, what you might do will
> depend on things like, how much time you have, how much experience you
> have
> with this kind of work (be honest, at least with yourself...and,
please do
> understand that _all_ of us have been beginners at some point or
> other...),
> how picky are the artists in general wherever you are?  (Is the
present
> person within a reasonable range of those who usually use the piano?
If
> not, is there criticism well-grounded?...etc...a whole other
discussion.)
> 
> So as not to put you off entirely, I think that a great deal would
depend
> on how much time I had.  If I had only exceptionally limited time, I
> _might_ be tempted to use an exceptionally light solution of lacquer
> sanding sealer in an acetone carrier...perhaps on the order of 11:1
> acetone
> to sealer.  (Using this combination gives you the most versatility for
> going back and making changes later.  The acetone evaporates very
quickly;
> and the sanding sealer breaks down.  Whatever else you do do, please,
do
> not succumb to the temptation to use plastic...it is, essentially
> irreversible...and, if used at all, should be used exceptionally
sparingly
> and only in exceptionally thin solution.)
> 
> If I had somewhat more time, I would probably spend some time with the
> needles and sandpaper files; and, based on _my own_ experience, would
most
> likely look at taking back a little from the lower to mid-tenor rather
> than
> trying to bring up the bass.
> 
> Too much hardness on hammers in a D, especially a Hamburg, is going to
> sound like so much broken glass in the hall and will distort badly.
Much
> more frequently, what the performer perceives as too little bass, is,
in
> fact, too much tenor.  The other place to check very quickly before
> starting is the first treble section.  Use good, solid FFF blows.  If
the
> sound breaks up/distorts/becomes musically unusable - then that area
is
> already too hot, and needs to be cut back.  It is the weakest area in
the
> scale, and has the least latitude for error.
> 
> So, the very short version here is:
> 
> 1.-     Check the first treble on it's own.
> 
> 2.-     Check the first treble in relation with the lower to
mid-tenor.
> 
> 3.-     Check the first treble in relation with the over strung,
especially
> the bottom octave.
> 
> 4.-     Check the balance between the bass (overall) to the lower to
mid-
> tenor.
> 
> 5.-     Check the balance between the E and F at the bass break and
the C#
> and D at the first treble break.
> 
> If you are already losing the first treble in any of the first three
> steps,
> and/or if you have to be really pounding it to keep things in balance,
the
> best thing to do might be nothing at all until you truly have some
time to
> work out whatever is going on.
> 
> If the first treble is reasonably balanced in the first three steps,
then
> pay very close attention to number 4.  If the lower to mid-tenor is
> already
> pretty blasty at FFF and the bass is loud but not quite at the same
level,
> you will probably be better advised to cut back the tenor than to try
to
> bring up the bass.
> 
> As to number five, whichever of these produces the weakest transition
is
> what determines how "loud" the piano may be made without pushing the
> limits
> too far....which is to say, don't go there unless you have either: A.-
> enough time to really fix the problem later; and/or, B.- enough money
to
> replace the hammers in case they really get messed up.
> 
> As you have probably guessed, this is not exactly a walk in the park;
and,
> a Hamburg D is not the best of all possible pianos on which to have
this
> kind of experience.  At the same time, if you work carefully, and take
> your
> time to do a good deal of listening between steps (particularly if you
> wind
> up having to use chemicals), you will be fine.
> 
> End of lecture....hope there is something useful in it for you.
> 
> 
> >This is the first time that I've used this system.  Please excuse me,
if
> >there are any duplicates.
> 
> No problem, at all.  This is what these lists are for.
> 
> Besides, the only truly stupid questions are the ones we do not ask.
> 
> Best regards and luck!
> 
> Horace
> 
> 
> 
> >Thanks,
> >
> >Keena Keel, RPT
> >
> > > caut list info: https://www.moypiano.com/resources/#archives
> >
> >
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