[pianotech] Restringing at Lower Tension

[Delwin D Fandrich]

It would, in my opinion, be unwise to simply drop everything down a wire
size. The A1 scale is uneven enough that this would significantly weaken an
already marginal treble. That's not to say the piano can't be rescaled to a
lower overall tension, however. This situation illustrates both the value
and the dangers of rescaling. The value of doing it logically and with
knowledge of what, exactly, you are doing to the overall performance of the
piano and the danger of wading in there without the proper information and
knowledge and simply making changes for the sake of making changes. 

I regularly drop overall tensions on pianos with predictable and desirable
results. But the process involves knowing--measuring and analyzing--the
original scaling and then making changes that are planned and appropriate. 

In the case of the Steinway A1 the treble is already relatively weak so you
wouldn't want to decrease the tensions there any further. There are other
areas that have relatively higher tensions that can be safely--and usually
profitably--brought down. Also the bass can be improved quite a bit by
smoothing it out, decreasing the wire diameters considerably is areas and
dropping the tensions in some areas. But you need to do this rescaling with
understanding and thoughtfulness. 

If you do not wish to do the actual rescaling work you might consider
working with a technician already experienced in the process. Your client's
desires are not all that unusual--a good share of the pianos I rebuild these
days end up with string tensions that are somewhat lower than the originals.
The results you client wants are not impossible to achieve. But for the best
results I'd strongly recommend that you actually measure the speaking
lengths and work up an appropriate scale based on those measurements. 

Don't worry about turning the A1 into a square; they are apples and
pomegranates. The A1 is capable of a smooth and balanced timbre that even
the best square could only dream about. 

You're right about the hammers. They will need to be relatively light to
avoid overpowering the scale. You'll also want something without a lot of
density. 

ddf

Delwin D Fandrich
Piano Design & Fabrication
6939 Foothill Court SW, Olympia, Washington 98512 USA
Phone  360.515.0119 — Cell  360.388.6525
del at fandrichpiano.com — ddfandrich at gmail.com

-----Original Message-----
From: pianotech-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces at ptg.org] On Behalf
Of William Ballard
Sent: Wednesday, August 17, 2011 6:37 AM
To: pianotech at ptg.org
Subject: [pianotech] Restringing at Lower Tension

Greetings from a long-time wayfarer.

One of my customers (with nine pianos, most of whom have work by me) has a
1892 Stwy AI which he would like now to restring with a new block (plus new
action). He has a notion (deserving to be tested) that if the stringing
scale is stepped down a wire size (read: rescale entirely, at lower
tension), that this will send the sound of the piano further in the
direction of the "19th Century". ie., The onset of the sound will be
slightly delayed (IOW, gentler bloom). I've explained to him that the place
to adjust bloom is with the proper choice and voicing of hammers. He
realizes that lower string mass means lower volume, and although I don't
know what size room the piano will end up in, I'm sure this is part of his
thinking.

A few more details to get the collective wisdom off and bubbling:

1.) The original board is fine (no weak regions, downbearing is there along
with front bearing at the bridge). This will be the foundation for this 19th
Century sound. But the rescaling will be stringing alone; the tenor bridge
and all speaking lengths will not be changed.

2.) I'm turning the action into a high Strike/Balance Ratio action with
light hammers on 15.75 knuckle-mounting distance shanks. There are plenty of
choices for light hammers. This will preserve the 19th Century feel.

His instincts about pianos are usually right on. (It's me who's getting used
to the idea of turning a Stwy A into a square grand.)

Bill Ballard RPT
NH Chapter, P.T.G.
wbps at vermontel.net

"I'll play it and tell you what it is later...."
     ...........Miles Davis
+++++++++++++++++++++