Modern Tone II, the Return of the Question

[Alan]

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Michael
=20
I'll try to communicate with you but I always have trouble talking to =
people
from Jolly Olde because I don't speak actual English. Ha.=20
=20
Actually, it's funny: I had a client once with a VERY thick,
you-should-pardon-the-expression, English accent. He sounded like his =
mother
was Aberdeen Scot, his father from Australia, both parents and all his
teachers and friends had speech defects, raised in the East End next to =
an
all-night foundry, mostly deaf himself, and the neighboring flat was
inhabited by Rock musicians on drugs. Man, he was hard to understand.
Anyhow, he'd been in the States for about 10 years and told me that when =
he
goes home (England) to visit family, everyone he runs into thinks he's =
an
American and has a hard time understanding him!!!    It's a rum old =
world,
as they (you) might say.
=20
String seating should read "string prep," or some such, and include
leveling, coil tightening, agraffe/capo dressing, and all of that. =
Bridge
pin stabilisation is, maybe, a word I made up but I mean slightly =
tapping
the pins in as needed, adding CA (or epoxy in bad cases) as needed, =
checking
the notching job, checking downbearing, and all that stuff to minimize =
false
beats, high partial buzz or whine, etc. I just didn't say it very well =
in my
post.
=20
Ciao for niao,
=20
Alan R. Barnard
Salem, MO

-----Original Message-----
From: Michael Gamble [mailto:michael@gambles.fsnet.co.uk]=20
Sent: Sunday, March 06, 2005 11:14 AM
To: Alan
Cc: pianotech@ptg.org
Subject: Re: Modern Tone II, the Return of the Question


Hello Alan and List
I really would like some amplification on the subjects of:
1. String seating
2. Bridge pin stabilisation
Any offers?
Regards from Sussex
Michael G.(UK)

----- Original Message -----=20
From: HYPERLINK "mailto:tune4u@earthlink.net"Alan=20
To: HYPERLINK "mailto:pianotech@ptg.org"'Pianotech'=20
Sent: Sunday, March 06, 2005 6:08 AM
Subject: RE: Modern Tone II, the Return of the Question

David, et al,
=20
Well said.=20
=20
I DID play the '28 D that you and Dale had in Sacramento (already posted =
a
comment to Dale). I sat down at that piano and the first thing I played =
was
an octave in the low bass. It was the most beautiful sound I've ever =
heard
from a piano, bar none, I exaggerate not.
=20
Please understand that I live in that mysterious part of the world where =
old
Lesters, Winters, Wurlys, Chicks, Gulbransens, and Starks come to die. I
tune 3 small Steinway grands, one new (Chinese) Steck grand, one (bless
them) nice M&H, a couple of older small Baldwin grands, and a boatload =
of
Hamilton studios (some nearly new, one that served on Noah's cruise =
ship, I
think, and was worn out then). Only the Mason is big enough and nice =
enough
to qualify as an RPT test piano and I've only seen it once, so far.
=20
So I can sure hear and appreciate good voicing but, as you say, it is =
hard
to communicate with words. And I only have an intellectual, theoretical =
idea
how it's produced, not the skills to do it.=20
=20
I'm going to spend time in Frank Henderson's shop doing some work in
exchange for some coaching on this. I honestly think voicing is a skill =
that
cannot be learned from a book and on one's own. I don't think one can =
one
acquire those "ears" without hearing pianos and experiencing the =
difference
with a guide at your side. At least, not I.
=20
Hope you didn't think my comment was a negative reaction to your post--I
actually liked the sound of your words. But how does that all sound in a
piano? Ahhh .... maybe like that bass octave in California.=20
=20
Hey, I liked the racing stripes, too. (Now everyone will be asking you =
what
the heck THAT means!)
=20
Alan R. Barnard
Salem, MO
=20
P.S.  Part of my pursuit of this at this time is a desire to rescue an =
area
Methodist church from the shrill, busy, ultra-bright, piercing, stident,
trident (gummed up) sound of the little Samick SG-172 grand they bought. =
I'm
pretty sure it's going to start with some serious string seating, bridge =
pin
stabilization, and regulation--followed by a session in the back room =
with
those hammers ... under a bright light ... with a rubber hose and brass
knuckles, to soften them up. I don't THINK I could make it worse, even =
with
what I know, now.  And, no, there are no other guild techs within two =
hours
of here and no local yokels I'd want to invite to help. I am alllllll
aloooooooone here in the elephant ivory graveyard.
=20

-----Original Message-----
From: pianotech-bounces@ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces@ptg.org] On =
Behalf
Of David Andersen
Sent: Saturday, March 05, 2005 11:22 PM
To: Pianotech
Subject: Re: Modern Tone II, the Return of the Question



4. For those with limited experience and little opportunitity to mentor =
with
someone, terms like "large, dark, powerful, clear, and throaty, with =
roar
and snap at double or triple forte, but NEVER clangy or distorted" just
leave one guessing as to what they mean. I assume that "dark" means =
power in
the lower partials not overshadowed by the higher ones (?) but I'd be
guessing about that "roar and snap" thing. This isn't to criticize =
David's
description, merely to point out the difficulties and frustrations of
communicating sensory perceptions through verbage. I've watch Roger =
Jolly
and Ari Issac do some voicing and marveled at what they can do and how =
well
they do it. But even trying, in person, to demonstrate and teach voicing =
to
a room full of people seems very challenging: "See, the sound is now a =
broad
'Ohhhhh' instead of an "Ehhhhh and it sits higher against on the shelf."
(Made part of that up .... sorry)

I think it's like people describing wines without giving you a sip: Yes, =
and
this vintage is drier than a moselle, slightly nutty, with just a hint =
of
the vine not revealed in the bouqet unless consumed at midnight in a
graveyard while holding a dead cat.

Alan R. Barnard
Always Studyin' but Not Always Gettin' It in Salem, MO



My friend---I=92m just trying to give words to an aural phenomenon, and =
it=92s
tough, but that=92s what =93developing a tonal memory=94 means: =
developing an
internal sense of how a piano is =93supposed=94 to sound at all volume =
and
attack levels. If you played the concert grands that Dale Erwin and I
brought to the Sacramento PTG Convention, I can say that both of those
pianos are in the ballpark of what most artists, technicians, and =
serious
listeners would describe as achieving the sonority of the 40=92s and =
50=92s
pianos---powerful and clear, without distortion or a brittle quality. =
There
I go again :--)

The CDs I mentioned in an earlier post are a good indication of what =
I=92m
trying to put in words. If we=92d met in Sacramento, I would have given =
you a
CD that I had a few copies of there---an amazing young jazz player named
Tamir Hendelman, playing trio versions of Christmas songs on a 1923 long =
A
my shop rebuilt.  That piano is a touch brighter, but sounds like a Bill
Evans record, which nearly always had imeccably tuned and voiced pianos.

It=92s a lifetime of listening and learning.  I still feel like a rank =
novice
a lot of the time.
Voicing is a noble challenge. It demands that so many things about the =
piano
be right.
When you become passionate about the voice of the instrument, your
toleration of unregulated and unprepared pianos becomes slimmer and =
slimmer,
and your business changes. This coming week, 4 of the 5 days are one =
long
day, or 2 long days, with a good grand piano. It wasn=92t like that 6 or =
7
years ago; it was much more tuning 3 or 4 pianos a day. As my ears have
grown, my practice has grown and improved.=20


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