Earlier than we even get began, I can hear a few of you on the market shouting “WOOD” …and – whereas that’s a partially appropriate – it’s a fully incomplete reply. Additionally, with no qualifiers, the phrase “WOOD” is woefully imprecise since not all woods are created equal. Balsa wooden, for instance may be very mild, however not very robust. Oak wooden may be very heavy and really robust. Neither make splendid “WOOD” for a complete piano. Why? Properly, to adequately clarify this matter, we’re going to should dig a bit deeper.
WOOD
Bosendorfer pianos are on of a only a few premium piano corporations that also construct their grand piano rims out of strong spruce. Most corporations (like Steinway and Mason) use laminated rims.
Wooden makes up over 80% of most pianos made immediately. At a look, you may inform the standard of a piano by the kinds and high quality of woods they use. Higher piano producers will choose particular woods like spruce for his or her soundboards and keys. …however spruce may be very costly so most manufactures (excluding Bosendorfer) use as little of it as they will. For structural parts which are much less concerned in producing the piano’s tone, most builders need a exhausting, sturdy wooden that’s extra reasonably priced. Let’s take a look at the 2 primary varieties of wooden – hardwood and softwood.
Hardwoods are used for furnishings and structural parts. Piano legs, framing, braces, motion components and helps may be constructed out of walnut, maple, mahogany, birch, ebony, or beech woods. Piano builders use hardwoods anyplace a mushy wooden (like piano keys, key motion components and hammers) may expertise an excessive amount of put on and tear with use. Piano keys are a superb instance of this. The keys themselves are sometimes made from spruce after which capped with items of maple to forestall lateral put on and tear alongside their stability factors. Piano bridges are sometimes made from or capped by hardwoods to forestall the piano’s strings from digging into them over time. Virtually all piano pin blocks are comprised of maple to supply the very best grip on the tuning pins for a few years to come back. Hardwoods present sturdiness and energy that assist to extend the piano’s life.
These keys are made from spruce (a mushy wooden). To forestall lateral put on and tear from enjoying, Baldwin has put in hardwood key buttons the place the metallic information posts cross by way of the keys.
Mushy woods, in contrast, are a lot better at transmitting sound than hardwoods. Woods like spruce, cedar, ash, and alder are sometimes used for musical devices based mostly on their distinctive tonal traits. …however it’s not sufficient to merely choose a species of wooden. The standard (or grade) of that wooden can also be important to its operate. There are huge variations within the high quality of spruce, for instance. Spruce from very chilly climates grows slowly and has a really shut grain sample (The grain is the darkish traces operating by way of the wooden.) that extra effectively transmits vibrations from the strings to the piano’s rim and again. Some soundboards in high-end pianos use wooden that was so slowly grown, the wooden might have 20 or extra grain traces per inch! After all, this high-quality, slow-grown wooden is extremely costly so solely the costliest pianos use it. Most good high quality pianos on the market are about 8-15 grains per inch. Decrease-end pianos might use most reasonably priced bushes that have been grown extra rapidly and, thus, have lower than 8 grains per inch. Tone wooden (a generic time period for woods utilized in soundboards or musical instrument cupboards) should be freed from knots or blemishes to supply the perfect sound.
Some pianos use much less wooden than you may suppose! In truth, to additional lower prices, many trendy piano builders use laminated wooden or solid-core plywood with veneers for his or her cupboards and lids. This helps them present a sturdy piano with an honest efficiency at a way more reasonably priced worth level. Solely the costliest premium pianos nonetheless construct their devices out of strong wooden.
METAL
The cast-iron plate of this Yamaha grand piano holds the 22.5 tons of stress from the metal strings and tuning pins.
Second solely to wooden, metallic is among the most vital supplies present in pianos. Pianos have both a sand or vacuum-cast iron plate that helps the strings and stabilizes the cupboard (And not using a forged iron body to assist maintain the 22.5 tons of string stress, trendy pianos would implode. I’ve really seen low-quality pianos twist themselves right into a warped form as a result of they weren’t correctly constructed to face up to the string stress.). In addition they use metal for issues like tuning pins – that are normally nickel-plated to forestall corrosion – and piano strings! Most piano builders additionally wind copper across the bass strings to supply extra highly effective bass tones. (Enjoyable Truth: if bass strings didn’t have copper wrapping, a medium-sized 6-foot grand would should be 30 toes lengthy to have close to the identical sound!) Most piano builders use some type of aluminum for motion rails (the metallic framework that holds the important thing motion and hammers in place above – or in entrance of – the strings). Lastly, high-quality piano builders use nickel or brass for pedals, hinges and {hardware}. As with wooden, the standard of the metallic used (and the tactic through which it was formed, completed, and so forth.) determines the standard of its efficiency and, thus, the standard of the piano in query.
LEATHER AND FELT
Right here you may see white, purple, inexperienced and purple felts – all doing various things in addition to mild brown buckskin to the left of the hammers and beneath the hammer shanks.
Curiously sufficient, early pianos of the 1700’s used leather-based to cowl their hammer heads. In truth, deer leather-based was generally discovered overlaying piano hammer heads up till the 1850’s (Deer leather-based may be very sturdy however it additionally has various levels of hardness and softness which may drastically have an effect on the hammer’s tonal properties.). After 1926, felt and leather-based have been utilized in totally different configurations by totally different producers, however finally most manufactures switched to personalized felt blends for piano hammers.
Because the 1700s, buckskin leather-based has been a standard materials utilized in piano actions. Very similar to the cartilage that pads our vertebrae and prevents the bones from rubbing in opposition to one another, buckskin leather-based acts as a bumper, padding and even a “lubricated barrier” between piano motion components. Nonetheless, as pianos have grow to be extra refined it’s grow to be extra vital that the softness, suppleness, weight, and thickness be tremendous constant. This prices some huge cash and producers are at all times seeking to protect high quality whereas decreasing value. This has led some corporations to experiement with artificial leathers. Some now use an artificial leather-based referred to as Ecsaine, which has all the great qualities of buckskin leather-based, however much less inconsistency from piece to piece.
You’ll additionally discover felt woven by way of the highest of the piano strings (normally it’s purple, brown or blue) and used on the dampers (normally white) to cease the strings from ringing. Piano builders additionally use felt in lots of locations for bushings, for padding, or to scale back noise (like on the pedals). Some pianos have a “observe pedal” which, when engaged, lowers a strip of felt between the hammers and the strings. The hammers strike then strike the strings by way of the felt, considerably muting the piano’s quantity.
PLASTICS
Plastic (“ABS,” “resin,” or “carbon fiber”) motion components are cheaper to make and simpler to vary, however pianists overwhelmingly favor an all-wood grand piano motion.
With new applied sciences come new supplies and the piano business – although identified for its hesitancy to attempt new issues – isn’t immune. Virtually each main piano producer has – at one time or one other – experimented with utilizing plastic of their piano actions. The thought was that plastic would maintain up higher to adjustments in temperature and humidity, it could be simpler and cheaper to make, and it could supply extra consistency than wooden – particularly within the motion the place many of the elements are very small and extra fragile. Most main manufacturers (like Yamaha and Steinway) rapidly deserted this materials and resumed utilizing wooden as soon as they noticed the response pianists needed to the fabric. Few main performers favored the texture of a plastic motion. Additionally, because the plastic elements aged, they turned brittle and started to crack, break or break down – inflicting much more issues for the homeowners. At the moment, only some piano corporations nonetheless promote plastics (normally referred to as “Teflon,” or “ABS,” or “carbon fiber”) of their piano actions as a result of they don’t ship sufficient advantages to outweigh the backlash from gamers preferring the pure “bend and provides” of an actual wooden motion. At the moment, plastics are most frequently present in areas the place they don’t influence a piano’s efficiency: a lid prop, a entrance panel latch, key tops, and so forth.
OTHER MATERIAL
After all, there several types of glue utilized in particular areas. Many pianos have a shiny polyester resin end which is principally a non-porous, very exhausting plastic. Some producers use medium-density fiberboard (MDF) in non-structural areas. When you have considerations about how the piano you’re contemplating is made, contact us or ask your native Registered Piano Technician. These building elements can significantly influence your piano’s efficiency and worth over time. It’s vital to know what you’re moving into.
CONCLUSION
All pianos are made of comparable “stuff,” however – identical to all vehicles have an engine, physique, seats, and tires – the QUALITY of all that “stuff” is what determines whether or not you may have a “Yugo” or a “Rolls Royce.”
