Thanks Delwin for answering the whole question, and as about as completely as possible me thinks. I had suspected that something along these lines was the case. And after reading your post it struck me that after 4 + years of reading yours and others words and experience I perhaps should have been able to have supplied the fellow with much the same answer. (see your last paragraph especially). Thanks agin :) RicB Delwin D Fandrich wrote: > > Richard Brekne wrote: > > Seems like he wants what he thinks is the Yamaha bass... upto about C2, > > and then he wants what he has in the "B". > > > > He has heard from another technician some things about rescaling the > > bass and I suppose he's in doubt as to whether or not he should spend > > the money. > > > > Cheers > > > > RicB > > I tend to agree with whoever it was that said something like, "If he wants a > Yamaha bass he should get a Yamaha." > > Rescaling the bass of a piano will do many things but it will not make a > Steinway B sound like a Yamaha. Nor should it be expected to. > > Rescaling can even things out -- the bass scale of the Model B (like most of > the early scales) is some erratic. If the rescaling efforts are extended up > into the tenor section a bit it can smooth out a rather awkward bass/tenor > crossover. It can open up the low mono-chord section -- the Model B scale > starts out using 0.063" (1.6 mm) core wire, the flexibility of which is > approaching that of a steel rod. > > But rescaling the bass will not make it sound like a Yamaha. Nor will it > make the piano sound "a foot longer." Nor will it make the piano sound > appreciably more "powerful." > > No, the idea with this kind of work -- whether its simple string rescaling > or whole piano redesign -- is (or at least should be) to make the piano > sound more like the original piano but without the knarlies. Without the > thuddy, indistinct bass. Without the uneven bass/tenor crossover. And > without the weak, percussive upper tenor and treble sections. But otherwise > retaining the essential character if the original. Even our own extensive > redesign work leaves the piano with the essential character if the original. > Though the "original" we're referring to harkens back to an earlier, > somewhat warmer and more melodic (musical?) age. > > All of which leaves the question: Could a Steinway B bass be "rescaled" to > sound like a Yamaha?" Well, yes, it could. At least we could come close. The > whole bass will have to be scaled to a somewhat higher tension. Of course, > that will overload the soundboard assembly so it will have to be replaced > with one that is considerably stiffer than the original. Since the original > B tenor/treble scaling will lack the energy to drive this new soundboard, > the strings up there will have to be rescaled as well. A bit more length and > mass (& tension) should do the trick. Now, since the original hammers will > lack the dynamic energy needed to drive the soundboard, they will have to be > replaced with something both more dense and more massive. This, > unfortunately, will overload the action so we'll have to do something about > that. And, finally, we'll have to be prepared for the owner complaining that > the whole piano sounds just like a Yamaha.... But, not to worry! With just a > little rescaling we can fix that.... > > Del > > _______________________________________________ > pianotech list info: https://www.moypiano.com/resources/#archives -- Richard Brekne RPT, N.P.T.F. UiB, Bergen, Norway mailto:rbrekne@broadpark.no http://home.broadpark.no/~rbrekne/ricmain.html
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