>So how's things, mate?
>Ron N
Hi Ron.
We're not setting the world on fire, but we've got a couple of
concert grand rebuilds under way at the moment, a circa 2000 Yamaha
CFIII with a soundboard impedance problem (but otherwise little
used), and a circa 1995 Steinway D with a soundboard impedance
problem (which is worn out in the action as well). Both clients are
budget conscious, so we are jacking both boards and fitting rib
extensions (made from Sitka) and all the usual stuff such as
agraffes, hardened bars and cold pressed quality hammers with revised
action geometry. The Yamaha CFIII will be offered for sale when
finished, while the Steinway will go back into service at our biggest
Sydney tertiary music institution. I'm looking forward to the D
returning to service so that it can be A-B compared to a couple of
quite new Hamburg Ds at the institution. We've done a number of these
rib extension jobs, and it works very well. The better solution is to
replace the boards entirely, because then you can do something about
the hideously oversize soundboard area in the middle and treble
registers, with bass and treble cut-offs. There is just far too much
soundboard area with the model D design to have any chance of seeing
more than just a few years before impedance problems set in.
Unfortunately, everybody is madly copying Steinway, not only in
soundboard area but in compression crowning, so everyone's got the
same problem. One of the major orchestra pianos here failed within
three years, but being Australian, the management didn't have the
bottle to face the obvious warranty issue, even though I offered to
write a report on the instrument for a fee. They simply pushed the
'lemon' off stage to a rehearsal room, and purchased another new
piano from the same maker.
The D we're doing has had its bridges mangled by the 'bridge tapping'
fraternity. I'm totally over tech's tapping strings down on bridges.
If there is 10 degrees of string offset over the bridge, coupled with
a bridge pin inclination of 20 degrees, there will be ample forces at
work to keep the strings on the bridge without slamming the strings
into the bridge cap with a punch. I haven't determined what we will
do with the model D bridge yet. The string grooves in the cap towards
the speaking length pins are simply outrageous. I took a couple of
pics. Might load them up soon for you all to take a peek.
I'm also finally getting around to building the new 131 cm upright
which we put a patent application in for 12 months ago. The PTG
Journal is interested in doing an article on this piano, so I won't
be too detailed with description at this time. However, the piano has
a new plate, which I call an arched-truss design, and which allows me
to build an upright with full-height treble bridges without cutouts
for treble section strut clearance (strut clearance cut-outs prevent
upright pianos from producing the equivalent tone to a similarly
scaled grand piano - I realise many maker's brochures claim their
upright has grand piano tone, but with bridge cutouts, such claims
are simply more hollow spin), full soundboard area control via curved
cut-offs, and a string scale which has approximately 6% less string
tension deviation when compared to a model D concert piano. I am
expecting a tonal character which is more akin to what one would
expect from a 7' grand piano. My computer modeling gives me
confidence that it will perform to these levels. The rib design is
similar to our 225 piano, so I'm looking forward to getting it fired
up. Planning to get this piano up and running soon. Sound board
building is currently under way. All my boards will be laminated from
here on. While perfectly good tone can be achieved with either solid
or laminated soundboard panels, the tuning stability is soo much
better with the laminated panel that I don't ever want to build
another solid panelled board.
Last year was an absolute shocker of a year for us with the GFC. It
made the year even more difficult than normal for us because, even
when times are good, Australian institutions are only interested in
acquiring the famous German brand. It doesn't matter how good a
competitor's piano might be, they simply won't be auditioned, even
when some of our leading pianists lobby for others to be considered.
With very few exceptions, the Australian music administration
fraternity are basically cowards when it comes to having the courage
to openly audition stuff from their own country with an open mind.
About the only two things Australians believe they can really compete
with the world in, is athletics (at a national support level of over
A$15 million per gold medal at the last Olympics) and digging the
country up and selling it for a one-off sell out. We are
unfortunately too immature as a nation to believe that we can achieve
anything of equality in the higher arts. We deliberately rate
ourselves as second best by force of habit, immaturity or both. Our
finest pianists, even when they are clearly high calibre, can get
nowhere here unless they have done a stint overseas. There are very
fine pianists here who simply don't get a gig because they are
automatically deemed inferior - because they haven't done their
obligatory overseas stint. How pathetic is that?
So how am I Ron? Apart from much of the time feeling like I'm wasting
my time, its simply fantastic being down under.
Ron O.
--
OVERS PIANOS - SYDNEY
Grand Piano Manufacturers
_______________________
Web http://overspianos.com.au
mailto:ron at overspianos.com.au
_______________________
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://ptg.org/pipermail/pianotech.php/attachments/20100924/e06a5f23/attachment-0001.htm>
This PTG archive page provided courtesy of Moy Piano Service, LLC