A keyboard in the home makes a quiet statement, but a grand piano is considered the greatest in elegance. When given a choice between a grand piano and a straight an artist will often choose the grand piano. Why, you might ask could be the grand piano much more desirable than a vertical piano. Herein we’ll cover some frequently asked questions that may help you decide on the right piano for the purposes.
First all pianos are not created equal. A top quality vertical piano surpasses a cheaply built grand piano. Grand pianos range in price from $4,995 upward to over $170,000. Why is the more expensive pianos better? Quality of materials, aging of woods and quality of craftsmanship to craft them. The more time the manufacturer takes to build a violin and the better felt, leather and woods used will translate to a violin that is effective at projecting sound efficiently and also better tone.
A piano’s action (the mechanism that propels the hammers once the keys are struck) is fairly intricate. The action has thousands of parts, which are adjusted and developed to very fine tolerances. One key that has a slight variance in its action will cause that key to do differently, affecting the proficiency of ones touch and musical dynamics. Better felts will not wear as quickly as those in cheaply made felt/leather. Further, higher quality woods utilized in the action will contract and expand causing alignment problems and again affecting one’s dynamic control.
Keys utilized in a violin should be made of quality wood, such as spruce, basswood AND utilize key buttons, which supports give the important thing stability and prevents excessive wear.
Tuning stability is vital to the general tone of the piano. 爵士鋼琴課程 The pin block, the multi-laminate plank of wood where the tuning pins reside should be made out of premium woods so torque on the pins is enough to withstand the over 20 tons or string tension. Some pin blocks use a few, very thin laminates that aren’t going to put up in addition to one that has multiple laminates. Hard rock maple is the absolute most accepted pin block by major manufacturers as you that may, on the long haul maintain tight pins, helping to keep good tuning stability.
The soundboard could be the diagraph that, once the strings are stretched across the bridges oppose the strings tension, thereby amplifying the strings vibrations. Good quality bridges and soundboards are a must to again produce quality tone. Soundboards can be either laminated or solid. A Sitka spruce is considered to be the very best wood for soundboards in pianos, guitars, violins and other acoustic instruments.
A solid soundboard surpasses a laminated. Soundboard are manufactured with edge-glued planks of spruce wood to create a large diaphragm, and then cut to suit the piano’s perimeter. The solid soundboard is more flexible than that of a laminated board, (kind of just like a sandwich of three pieces of spruce and other wood). The tone of a laminated board tends to really have a brittle sound whereas the solid board has a more responsive tone that is a whole lot more pleasing.
A vintage wives tale about cracked soundboards is merely that….a wives tale. A soundboard that has a break, first in nearly all cases can be repaired, IF the tone is even suffering from the crack. I’ve tuned numerous pianos that give no indication of a problem. Now, if the ribs, (on the backside of the soundboard which supports maintain the crown or much like a drum head) have separated from the soundboard, there may be a buzz, or weak tone. But again that is easily repaired. We repair soundboards/rib frequently. So, if a violin you’re considering has a “bad soundboard” or a “cracked soundboard” let a qualified piano tuner-technician examine the piano for you. Odds are the piano is merely fine.
Another note about soundboards….a grand piano that is say 60-90 years of age could have a soundboard that has lost its crown. If the piano is a quality piano, like a Steinway & Sons, Baldwin, Mason & Hamlin, Bosendorfer and other quality piano, it’s worth replacing the soundboard and restringing once the piano is being restored. A Steinway piano today that is rebuilt with a brand new soundboard would bring from $22,000-90,000 with regards to the size of the piano.
So what kind of piano should you get; a console, studio, spinet or grand piano? This will depend on how it will be used. Will the piano be played in the home, at college, a church? Each application will place varying demands on the instrument. A keyboard that is made cheaply will not last nearly for as long in a college because it will in a home. The size of the grand piano needs to be considered. The longer the piano, the more volume and better tone quality it’ll produce. A keyboard that is too small for a church will be beat to death in an effort to bring out more volume for choral works, or when playing with a band. So the size of the piano, which supplies larger soundboard area and longer strings will be best in those instances where a smaller one will be just great for home or studio use.