[CAUT] Sostenuto mounting (was Re: Forum format)

[Bdshull at aol.com]

The sostenuto on Steinways was belly mounted through  the 1870s.  A rotating 
mechanism had arms which a cloth-sheathed wire  was tautly soldered to.  There 
was a little pin on the damper lever that  the sheathed wire caught.   More 
of us have seen 19th century Steinway  verticals with the same wire.  It's the 
same wire.
 
Steinway went to an action mounted system between 1878 and 1880, depending  
on the model.  Just as Steinway was done with the bellymounted system it  
started up the Hamburg factory....which kept the bellymounted  system. 
 
Bill
 
Bill Shull, RPT, M.Mus.
 
 
 
 
 In a message dated 7/18/2008 4:02:00 P.M. Pacific Daylight Time,  
fssturm at unm.edu writes:

On Jul  18, 2008, at 4:10 PM, Ron Nossaman wrote:

> Thanks Fred, I had seen  the 1916 patent, but not the 1875, called an  
> improvement in  piano attachments. <G> But the text describes it as a  
>  cord, wire, or strip, so maybe it doesn't count.

Well,  the strip  is a "strip of flexible or rigid material." I think  
that covers the  sostenuto rod of current grands, as well as the  
fixture with a piece  of cord Steinway used on uprights. The term used  
is "rock shaft" (I  guess this means a shaft that "rocks" or pivots  
through a short  rotation). He describes in some detail the method of  
mounting the  rock shaft to the bellyrail by means of a bracket which  
enables the  position of the rock shaft to be "adjusted with great  
nicety." I  think it does, indeed, count, and was the obvious forebear  
of all  the various sostenuto devices in use today.
It is quite  wonderful to be able to see the drawings and read the  
texts of all  these patents from the comfort of one's own home (or  
classroom with  WIFI, as has been the case for me today, when taking a  
short  breather).
Now as for when and why the decision was made to  change to an action  
bracket mounted system, that remains shrouded in  mystery. Perhaps Bill  
Shull can help us with the when. I think one  can assume that those who  
made the decision thought it would be an  improvement for some reason,  
but didn't find it worthwhile to patent  the change.
Regards,
Fred Sturm
University of New  Mexico
fssturm at unm.edu









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