Steinway upright rebuilding

[DAVander@aol.com]

In a message dated 95-08-31 RobertD429@aol.com wrote:

>Just a coupla more comments on rescaling --
>
>First, has anyone mentioned the Journal article on rescaling a 1905 Steinway
>upright? This article appeared in June 1988 (pp 24-29).

This article was precisely what sparked my interest in the subject of
rescaling.  I thought that the article was fascinating.  The first few times
I read it, about a year or so ago, I didn't follow what the author was saying
very well.  When I read it again at the end of August, it made a lot more
sense.  I even made my own charts and calculated the breaking percent and
tension using the formulas in John Travis' book "A Guide to Restringing".

>
>Second, I might be a little slow to make this my first rescaling project.
Not
>that the shorter Steinway scales are unassailable, but most clients will
find
>them pretty good, and there are a couple of variables which don't always
show
>on paper. Just a ferinstance -- most pianos show a jump in the arbitrary
>number representing loudness ( Z ) at the bass break. On paper (especially
on
>a piano with nothing but plain wire on the long bridge) one would think this
>is a feature of the change to wound wire and should be smoothed out, but of
>course the real culprit is the different response of the placement of the
two
>bridges on the soundboard. In other words, calculations don't tell
>everything. These old scales were often refined by sensitive ears.

At the Kansas City PTG Chapter meeting this last Tuesday I spoke with an RPT
that I hold in high regard.  He recommended that I not change the scale at
all, but reproduce everything exactly the way it was.  I will follow the
advice of those who know better!

However, I am still interested in using the calculations to theoretically
figure out if the scale could be improved or not.

>About twenty years ago (when I knew everything), we were stringing a short
>inexpensive grand, and it had one of those bridges which curves forward at
>the tenor. I figured out the scale, and of course the tension went way down
>in this area. The ScaleMaster (me) knew that we could raise the tension by
>using larger wire, and figured that the horrible tone in this area would
then
>be fixed. Well, of course, that also raised the inharmonicity AND the
>output-- the string sounded like welding rod -- really LOUD welding rod.
>Changing to wound wire would have helped, but, depending on the bridge, this
>can also produce two breaks in the tone where there was one.


In the article in the June 1988 JOURNAL, I believe that the scale was changed
to include some wound strings on the long bridge to increase the tension
while lowering the inharmonicity.

>What I'm saying is, I've gained considerable humility over the years. I
don't
>change a scale unless I hear a problem, am sure that the problem is not
>disguisable by voicing, am sure that I know that I won't be giving up one
>thing to get another, am sure I can predict the outcome, and am sure that
the
>customer won't consider this an inappropriate change in the authenticity of
>the design or of a historical instrument.

I appreciate your thoughts.  I _don't_ know that there is a problem in the
scale, and I _can't_ predict what the change would do to the sound.   I will
have to do this first on some of my own pianos before I can know what the
change will do.

>About hammers: the old hammers were light, soft, and juiced with shellac.
>These were capable of a wonderful sound, and the easiest way to get a
similar
>sound is to use a similar hammer and voicing style. You might also talk to
>Dale Erwin about Isaac hammers, which, if you are comfortable with light
>juicing, have a very resilient core to maintain sustain. Hammers with a
>stiffer core tend to sound dead on this instrument.

>Good luck,
>Bob Davis

I have not had experience juicing hammers with shellac or hammer hardener.  I
have had experience with softening hammers and using a voicing tool.  I chose
Imadegawa hammers, and I will see how that turns out.


Thank you for your response!

Sincerely,

David A. Vanderhoofven
davander@aol.com
Joplin, MO
Associate Member, Kansas City chapter PTG