Nearly all piano soundboards are made of thin planks of spruce glued together. Strings also stress the pinblock which has to be replaced when it wont stay in tune. Often, depending on the size, location, and nature of the crack, it will make no difference at all in the pianos sound. The soundboard is what allows the piano to project its sound. The sounding board is the most important single part in the piano because if the board is bad, you do not have a piano until there has been a major repair job. There are a very few belly men technicians specializing in soundboard repair who do excellent work replacing soundboards.
While soundboard cracks are obviously undesirable, and in some cases can cause serious problems. Nearly all soundboards will crack at some point over the life of the piano. When a soundboard cracks, the most effective repair involves cutting out the crack and planking in a fresh piece of spruce. I was under the impression this was pretty much a wasted effort. When manufactured, the soundboard has built into it a curvature or crown. Much more important is for a grand, that the soundboard does not start to hang down instead having a convex dome. There is a crack in my piano s sound board, caused, i believe, by being stored in an arid place. If you crack open the lid of either your grand or upright piano and look down, you will see a shiny piece of wood behind the iron plate that runs the entire area of the bottom or back of the instrument. Having your upright or grand piano restored may be the perfect opportunity to renew the surface finish, since your instrument is a key element of your interior design. A solid soundboard is commonly used in piano soundboard construction. Oct 31, 2009 how costly is it to fixed a cracked sound board in a piano. We bring our generations of experience to the table and use the techniques passed on through the decades. During the extremely cold weather recently, apparently crack appeared in the soundboard.
Soundboard find a professional piano company or piano technician, that will repair the soundboard of your piano. Check, repair bridges, refinish the soundboard, paint the plate, reinstall, restring. The pianos action is the mechanism that causes the felt hammers to strike the strings when you play a key. The sounding boards function is to truly reflect and amplify that tone. A question came up on another forum about the possibility of repairing the cracked sound board on a 1929 braumuller baby grand piano. Years of vibration and climate changes can cause the soundboard s pieces to split at the seams. A large, fullsize upright piano has longer strings and a larger soundboard than a baby grand piano. Sometimes when the soundboard gets cracks in it, the ribs come unglued from it in places.
Feb 07, 2012 so youve noticed the soundboard of your piano has a crackor perhaps many cracks. T he pianos that have their soundboards replaced are often vintage pianos or pianos that have been exposed to adverse conditions. With aldens piano repair service, your piano is in good hands. Antique square grand piano restoration shaffer pianos. Piano soundboard restoration is an exacting and timed honed process.
Small cracks, especially cracks that form along the seams where the wood pieces are joined together, occur in most cases due to age. We are rejecting low end pianos where the quality of plate casting was the cause of the failure. I inherited the piano and want to keep it in good shape and fix up the major problems. Dealing with this crack will depend on a number of things, including whether the bottom is closed or not. Contrary to what the name implies, it is not one board, but several planked together, much like a hardwood floor. When choosing whether to repair or replace your soundboard, its important to consider the level of damage.
The significance of soundboard cracks on pianos youtube. The nostalgia of owning a piano from liszts time sounds tempting. A cracked soundboard the thin board stretched across the frame of a piano whose role is to amplify sound seems to be everyones greatest fear. If you open up the lid of either your upright or grand piano and look down, you will see a shiny piece of wood that runs the down the back or the bottom of the instrument. When the soundboard looses a lot of moisture or absorbs and. Piano care and repair table of contents, repair, restore, and tune your piano. Frequently asked questions about piano tuning, piano care, pitch raises, soundboard issues, minnesota climate.
Smaller cracks may not impact your pianos sound enough to warrant repair. From sticking keys to broken strings, or loose tuning pins to a cracked and buzzing soundboard, grand purpose piano will come to your location, evaluate the problem, and offer immediate solutions. Piano repair is second nature to aldens piano company. Because the distance strings to soundboard and the tension inside the soundboard is of importance. A piano tuner is pleased to announce that we are adding the very popular squeegie type soundboard cleaners designed by bill spurlock to our growing line of spurlock specialty tools. Once you get to the point where strings need to be removed, the labor charges go up. Cracks in a piano soundboard are common and often are not sufficient reason to replace a soundboard. Soundboard repair oxford piano service piano tuning. On the back of it, it has one inch ribs which stabilize it by running against the grain of the sound board. Mar 12, 2016 this is an example of a significant crack in the soundboard of a small baby grand piano. Piano restoration rebuilding refinishing repair connecticut ct. Any piano with a little age on it will have a cracked soundboard, and any piano that is restored by any piano shop can have soundboard issues corrected and addressed properly. The good news is that this has nothing to do with the tuning.
How costly is it to fixed a cracked sound board in a piano. When an original soundboard needs restoration, we evaluate the board to ensure structural integrity, hand sand it and repair any damage utilizing our special methods. Even in this case, a quick and easy repair may be done using little. When installing a shim repair the crack is opened, scraped and enlarged. The customer asked in advance if i knew of someone who could repair such a crack. A lot of technicians would have opted to repair the crack. Id like to have it tuned and learn to play it, however, it has a cracked sound board. I am asked often about soundboard cracks, and often by people that have heard its a death sentence for the piano, or that it means the piano cant be tuned. A new soundboard is custom tapered and fitted into the specific piano. Repair of rib separations can usually be done at reasonable cost without rebuilding the piano. The table below provides an overview of some of the many facets of restoring antique pianos at shaffer pianos and illustrates why pianos should be restored in a shop and not a customers home. Even then, a cracked plate can be repaired, by the right person, using the right materials but of all piano repairs, repairing a cracked plate is by far the most risky, due to the enormous tension from the strings.
But if it has cracks in the sound board, than it is better to leave it for a museum. A quick and simple test is to finger pluck your highest octave and listen if the tone projects through the entire piano and more importantly the. You may be referring to a bad pin block which does directly affect tuning. However, i played a chickering quarter grand 1904 today with glued cracks from underneath you could see the wood was missing, even. A basic repair for this in an upright piano is to insert glue between the soundboard and the ribs closest to the crack and draw the soundboard back to the ribs either by screws or by some other method. In grand pianos, this condition is a little more serious mainly. If the crack is small and doesnt buzz, theres no need to fix it. If you have a high quality piano we can probably effect the repair. For example, if a baby grand piano is 5 feet long, at least 12 inches of that length is going to be the keyboard before the strings and soundboard begin. Cracks in the soundboard are common in older pianos and can cause buzzing, loss of volume, and poor sustain. This usually will eliminate the offending noise when the piano is played. Order piano parts and tools from our catalogue catalog.
I cant count the number of times someone has said to me. Piano repair costs will be one to several thousands of dollars for the changing of strings alone, if necessary. This is an example of a significant crack in the soundboard of a small baby grand piano. These are american steinways first new grand piano introductions in many, many decades. Soundboard cracks demystified south jersey piano service. Jul 25, 2012 soundboard cracks can be very minimal. Greeb, the proper repair for the soundboard crack, if warranted, is a spruce shim.
Advice for adult students wanting to learn to play duration. Cracks can be repaired, retaining the original soundboard. The newest piano is based on the second largest size. Introduced at winter namm 2006, is the rebirth of the steinway model o grand piano in the 6 10 and 34 size. The ribs run perpendicular to the grain of the soundboard, and therefore perpendicular to any cracks. The common thought is the soundboard is not repairable when damaged but on the contrary can be fixed in most situations. Thats why its essential to conduct regular maintenance and repair of your soundboard. Find a professional piano company or piano technician, that will repair the soundboard of your piano. This is a big big job and most pianos are just not worth it. Soundboard replacement is not a requirement for most pianos but if your piano is lacking tone and resonance in the high treble or anywhere else, it may be time to replace your soundboard.
This table of contents will lead you through the book. The cracks will expand and only cause you trouble if you cannot have a strictly controlled and sterile environment. One method for repairing cracks in a soundboard requires inserting a shim. Over the years, soundboards can crack for a variety of reasons. Nashville piano rescue is full service and does make house calls on basic repairs, we also do piano cleaning, key top replacement, brass polishing, string replacement and full rebuilds, refinishing. Most pianos on the east coast have cracked soundboards. If you crack open the lid of either your grand or upright piano and. So youve noticed the soundboard of your piano has a crack. With aldens piano repair service, your piano is in. The belly new pianos, used pianos, piano restoration. Talk to us about your ideas and preferences for your. Rates and answers to piano service, tuning, repair. A piano will go through many changes as weather and seasonal changes bring in cold and warmth. Make sure its not cracked and that the ribs, pins, and bridges inside arent cracked or broken.
I think hubbards books cover soundboard repairsprobably the little pamphlet, not the big book. If that bad, cracked, lost crown, a new board may be needed. Perhaps it looks less like a smooth, machined piece of carpentry and more like a freight pallet. Secondly, dont worry about a cracked soundboard unless a tuner tells you to worry. Soundboards must be perfectly balanced to eliminate any sound interference.
A cracked harp plate is an important issue, but in most cases can be remedied by new technologies in welding and mending. Weve received so many requests for this item from customers who want keep their grand piano soundboard clean with these tool that reach all areas of the. Cracked soundboards are actually quite common, especially in this climate. The soundboard, which is the large wooden board you can see from the back of an upright piano or from underneath a grand, has ribs glued on it to strengthen it. A pianos soundboard is one of the most important pieces on a piano. Piano owners survival guide piano parts catalogue catalog. Jul 03, 20 a basic repair for this in an upright piano is to insert glue between the soundboard and the ribs closest to the crack and draw the soundboard back to the ribs either by screws or by some other method. It is more a repair for a piano that is incredibly special or expensive, such as a concert grand steinway or bosendorfer that has a soundboard in. It is also one of the main reasons that a cracked soundboard will buzz when played at certain frequencies. For whatever reason i see more yamaha grand pianos with pressure ridges than kawai grands, i dont know why, its possibly different spruce, but its just an observation from being in the business for a long time.
A cracked pinblock can be replaced, and a cracked soundboard can certainly be repaired or replaced. Welcome to estey piano piano rebuilding services piano. If there is something wrong here, that has a much more influence on the sound. The soundboard is imperative for the projection of any piano.
I have a customer with a yamaha g2 grand about 30 years old. So youve noticed the soundboard of your piano has a crackor perhaps many cracks. Other structural repairs, or repairs to the soundboard, will be expensive and will certainly need to be performed by a professional as it should be with most repairs. One method for repairing cracks in a soundboard requires inserting a shim of wood into the cracked board. If you have a grand, you will have to work under the thing. Nov 30, 2009 this photo was taken underneath a new name brand grand piano that was only 1month old when the 1layer solidspruce soundboard cracks were discovered by the owner in their home in phoenix, arizona. Piano restoration costs piano restoration pricing guide 2019. Repair cracked soundboard soundboards what you hear is what you. There is a crack in my pianos sound board, caused, i believe, by being stored in an arid place. Repairing or replacing a pianos soundboard bradfield piano. I dont think my piano is worth anythingthe soundboard is cracked. This is the table of contents to a book for doityourselfers. This has become a popularly adopted technique for repairing soundboards. It is uncluttered by splash and frills so that you can concentrate on getting the job done.
When purchasing a grand piano dont buy one with a cracked soundboard, a pressure ridge or 2 is all right. A piano with a cracked soundboard should be carefully checked for rib separations before purchase. The book tells you in plain language how to care for and repair your piano. Recently i did what i called a makeover to what was apparently a horrible chinese grand from 2005, a stencil piano from the dongbei factory with a hallet. They can provide insight on how to best preserve your pianos sound and give pricing for a. Any separation of a rib from the soundboard at a crack is a potential source of buzzing noises. The sound board is a five eighths inch thick wooden board in the back of the piano. Nov 29, 2011 it is possible to force it upwards and repair the crack, but results and duration may be iffy. I know that the piano is just junk to a serious pianist, but id like to try and repair it and have it tuned. A good quality soundboard can l ast 100 years or more. In a traditionally made, solid spruce soundboard, the crown is maintained by. You need someone who is expert at soundboard repair. It can be sealed to stop the buzzing, but to cosmetically repair, the strings must be removed and the crack must be shimmed and relacquered.
Piano sound board repairing cracks the sound board is a five eighths inch thick wooden board in the back of the piano. If you own a piano that is due or even overdue for quality refinishing, repair or restoration of any kind, from abington to yantic, to lakeville to kent to sandy hook to monroe, your piano repair is as close as the entrance to your local interstate highway. The case against repairing piano soundboard cracks part 1. In extreme cases, cracked boards can produce a buzzing sound, but this can be corrected through repair. It is more a repair for a piano that is incredibly special or expensive, such as a concert grand steinway or bosendorfer that has a soundboard in really bad shape but is still worth restoring. Kurt weissman of grand purpose piano is restoring this steinway m and in the. Graymarket pianos and cracked soundboards pianobuyer. This can be shimmed not a problem, unless inspection reveals a whole lot of other problems. If the crack is small, but wide, it can be cleaned and a soundboard shim can be installed fairly simply. This photo was taken underneath a new name brand grand piano that was only 1month old when the 1layer solidspruce soundboard cracks were discovered by the owner in their home in phoenix, arizona. Unless you have repaired a cracked soundboard before, we recommend contacting a professional. Epoxy soundboard crack repair pianotech piano technicians guild. Evenmore so by playing on it consistantly, you will only make the cracks worse. Whether you have a grand piano or an upright piano, fixing cracks is one of the most common soundboard repairs.
This is a more expensive repair depending on how big your piano is and how many cracks need repair. We offer moving from any location to our shop for restoration and then. You can glue the board back onto a rib, if they have separated, but that is a much more entailed process. First of all, dont buy a used piano without having a tuner inspect it first.
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