[CAUT] sanctuary formula

[Mark Cramer]

I think those days are gone Wim, the nearly-new question, is acoustic or
amplified?

IOW, is the piano expected to carry the building acoustically, or will it be
miked?

If the piano is to be miked, it is probably part of an ensemble situation,
where the feeling seems to be "the least space the piano occupies the
better."

The lid will rarely make it up to the 1/2 stick, so the acoustic output
doesn't bleed into other mics, nor carry to the audience out of time-phase
with the amplified sound. Nonetheless, who wants to listen to a grand piano
shorter than 6', miked or not?

If the piano is in a acoustic setting, I'm still not certain there is (or
ever was) a ratio of piano size to room size. Consider (tiny) recording
studios that insist on a concert grand, simply because of tonality.

Back in my audio days (post tube amp/pre compact disc ;>) we encouraged
clients to always purchase the largest amplifier they could afford,
regardless of speaker or room size. As above, it was entirely about sound
quality (dynamic range, etc.) NOT volume.

(volume freaks always seemed to figure out how to "add some lacquer," via
the bass and treble controls anyhow)

So I will suggest any room described as a sanctuary or concert hall, decide
between a 7' and 9' instrument. And if price is honestly not the determining
factor, am not aware of any hall I serve (regardless of size) where a 9'
concert grand would not be the ideal instrument.

best regards,
Mark Cramer,RPT
Brandon University







-----Original Message-----
From: caut-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:caut-bounces at ptg.org]On Behalf Of
Willem Blees
Sent: Friday, September 15, 2006 11:42 AM
To: CAUT
Subject: [CAUT] sanctuary formula


Has any one every devised a formula to figure out the optimum size of
piano for a sanctuary? I realize there are a lot of variables with
this, but what I am looking for is a guide to help churches and
concert halls determine what size piano they should have. The
dealer I work for and I discussed this the other day. There are too
many churches that get too small a piano to fill the santuary, and
then wonder why the piano breaks down after a couple of years

Wim
Willem Blees, RPT
Piano Tuner/Technician
School of Music
University of Alabama
Tuscaloosa, AL USA