posted November 4, 2007
There is nothing like taking a piano that needs a great deal of service, doing the work that needs done, and witnessing the changes take place in tone, color and timbre. It is as if you can begin to quantify the change that each turn of the screw has on the focus and power, control evenness and sustain that is waiting to be revealed.
Every instrument starts with a true potential. No matter what is done, aside from changing parts or redesigning things, only what the instrument is capable of achieving will be possible. That having been said, the possibilities are nearly endless as to what can be accomplished with any instrument given enough time and effort. First comes foundation. A piano must have a solid foundation on which the player can rely. A player can sense this foundation throughout the dynamic range and can quickly learn where the piano's limitations lie on either end or throughout this range. For example, a pianist may play quietly and find it difficult to control this end of the dynamic range or play fortissimo and get less than is to be expected. It translates into the player not getting out of the piano what is being put into it. I see my job as a piano technician or "Piano Tone Regulator" to be that of "getting the instrument out of the artist's way." If the player is thinking mechanism, i.e. the pedal is squeaking or this note feels different than its neighbor, then concentration from the performance is being taken away from the musicality and applied toward a distraction. On the other hand, if the player is getting out of the piano exactly what is being put in then the piano begs for more and more as if seducing or coaxing the player to go farther than ever before. The foundation of the piano is literally the connection between the player's fingers and the earth. Any flexibility or elasticity between these two points is sensed by the player and affects the transfer of energy from the players finger through the mechanism and into the air. There are so many parts to a good piano foundation that with fear of missing a few I will only name some. Not in any particular order I break the piano into four distinct parts. First, the case. Second, the action. Third, the tonal center which includes the soundboard, bridge, plate, pin-block, and strings, and fourth, the lyre and back action or damper system.
To Be Continued.
John Wilson RPT
My Blog
posted July 14, 2007
Like a Needle in a… Felt Stack
Finally, a needle for the
piano industry!
By John Wilson, RPT
I remember being fascinated as I watched guys like Norman Neblett, Michael Spreeman, and Terry Otake quickly and precisely needle a hammer over and over. The focused look on their faces declared that they knew exactly what tonal change had taken place with each stab. So what determines a good voicing? I’ll leave that for another discussion, but one thing these guys all had in common, besides many of their techniques and approach, was that they were all sticking needles into a piano hammer. So what kind of needle were they using? If you ask around you’ll quickly learn that there is somewhat of a standard among technicians, but it varies within reason. The needle of choice among technicians is a #6 sharp. That having been said, this is an interesting point of topic as I have researched what exactly makes a needle a #6 sharp or other wise. First, let’s look at the different types of needles out there. There are, in alphabetical order, Bodkin, Chenille, Darners, Easy Threading, Embroidery, Leather (a.k.a. Glovers), Long Darners, Milliners, Quilting, Sharps, and Tapestry (for more information on each of these needles go to http://www.colonialneedle.com/html/about-needles.html).
So why do we use sharps and why #6? The answer is pretty simple. These are the most common, readily available needles and they work nicely to change the density of a piano hammer. Sharps are general, all-purpose sewing needles. You can go into just about any general store that has the most basic of sewing departments and find a sewing needle. Typically a basic pack of sewing needles will have an assortment of lengths and sizes (or diameters). It is interesting to note that the sizes #5, #6, #7, etc., designate a length and diameter change. This change varies depending on the manufacturer. This complicates things a little because you can buy a #6 Japanese needle or a #6 English needle and end up with two different diameters and lengths. I have concluded that this is one of the main reasons why a technician may say he uses a #5 while another insists that a #6 is the only needle to use.
I am now proudly introducing Dr. Flügel’s Deluxe Premium Golds, a needle specifically designed for piano tone regulation. Finally, a needle for the piano industry! I took an average of the different needle manufacturer’s sizes and determined that a #6 was closest to a .69 mm needle in diameter but usually had the length of 40 mm. This is unless you use a quilter’s needle which would then give you the exact same needle in a 30 mm length. Both of these needles, I realized, had one item that was not needed, the eye. Because we are not going to stick a thread or anything else in this small and seemingly useless hole many of us have found ourselves clipping it off, not only because the needle may be too long but also because the eyes of the larger diameter needles are not always accommodated by the hole in our tool. There needed to be and now is a needle designed for the piano technician that works better than the needles we have been used to using. I am also attempting to standardize that which we think to be standard but is not. By the way, look around and it won’t take long to find an abundance of items in our industry which are not standard. So… here is what I have done. First, there is now one standard and one non-standard length in the order heretofore mentioned, 30 mm and 40 mm. Second, in the 30 mm length, which by the way works best in the Flügelbauer Premium Voicing Tools, there are three standard diameters: .61 mm, .69 mm, and .76 mm. That would be, in the order heretofore mentioned, #7, #6, and #5. Note that in needle sizing in this diameter range the number size gets larger as the diameter decreases. Note also that this is not always the case but only in much larger and smaller diameters such as sizes #16-18 which are larger than #1-12 Sharps.
Just as any other high quality needle, Dr. Flügel’s Deluxe Premium Golds start as a drawn carbon steel rod. They forego the eye process and simply become a sharp point needle which is then hardened and nickel plated. Finally, they are electro-plated with 24 carat gold, which means that the gold molecules are bonded to the nickel plating through electrolysis. This type of plating means that it won’t chip off, but rather wears off with use (about 2000 strokes to wear off most of the gold plating on the tip and point). The electro gold plating has been added as a lubricant. The gold plating, just as the standard nickel plating, wears more near the tip where it is taking the brunt of the impact upon entry. The needles are then packaged in tubes of 20. The tubes are printed for easy determination of size. 30 mm x .69 mm., for example, would be considered an eyeless #6 Quilters or a 30 mm #6 Sharp. The “point” of all of this? I’ll let you decide. But remember, you no longer have to go searching for that perfect voicing needle in a haystack.
John Ross Wilson, RPT
Flügelbauer Piano Supply
(801) 602-3429
posted July 14, 2007
Flugelbauer Piano Supply has finally revealed it's full line of voicing tools. There are four handles in the voicing kit which also includes a chopstick, voicing blocks, sanding paddles, a suede brush, extra needles, hex wrench, and of course the kit case. Dean Garten and I had a great time showing off our new line at the 2007 PTG National Convention where we also debuted our tuning lever, KF tool, grand damper screwdriver, and custom hearing protection. We will not only be attending and exhibiting the upcoming conventions but look for us as instructors where we will be teaching a number of different classes including "The Right Tool for the Right Job" and "Tone Regulation... The Unsung Sonnet."
John Wilson RPT
posted December 4, 2006
Today we received access to edit the web site. It will be nice to be able to enter a blog from time to time. It looks like I'll be at NAMM in January and then off to Cal State Convention in February. The amazing Deeno will be at Cal State. Dean Garten is the Vice President of the all new Flugelbauer Piano Supply. He will be introducing some new products at the convention so look for us in the Flugelbauer booth.