What Makes a Quality Piano?

What Makes a Quality Piano?

One of the most common questions technicians are asked goes along the lines of, "How good is my piano?" or "Is this a quality piano?" Often times I find myself trying to explain as politely as possible to a pressing customer why their piano doesn't sound so good. This is somewhat a difficult thing to do, especially once you finish servicing their instrument and accept the check.

When looking for "quality" in an instrument, you must first understand that there are two kinds of quality to inspect. Craftsmanship quality, and material quality. An expert piano maker cannot make a quality piano with poor materials, and a novice piano maker cannot usually make a quality piano even if he has the best of materials. So in short, when assessing the quality of an instrument, you must combine both of these factors into a single final measurement, assessing both craftsmanship and materials at the same time.

Craftsmanship quality is usually fairly easy to realize and appreciate. Clean glue joints, countersunk screw heads, well sanded and finished wood, properly aligned hinges and hangers, etc. If your piano shows any sign of sloppy gluing, careless screw placement, or improperly aligned parts, you can be sure the craftsmanship is poor.

Now, I cannot leave off there. In nearly all factories throughout all of history, the factory technicians how build the outside of the piano (what you see) and the inside of the piano (the actual working parts) are completely separate teams. The operators that build the cabinet of the piano are very good at doing that, and most pianos look very nice from the outside. You cannot use the outside appearance of a piano to judge quality, even from good name brands. To properly assess quality craftsmanship, you must look inside the piano at the action mechanism, the keys, and other aspects of the piano.

Now, material quality is harder to assess for someone who doesn't know what quality materials would be. A piano action consists of cloth such as felt and cotton, leathers such as buckskin, wood, and sometimes plastics. Knowing the difference between real cloth and synthetic cloth is fairly easy. The felt will be very soft and smooth as well as evenly colored. The cotton braid will usually have a similar texture to a very soft cotton T-shirt, and will be neatly braided and wound around strings.

Quality leather is to detailed to get into here, but in most cases if it's real leather it's good enough and you don't have to worry about the quality of it so long as it is real and not synthetic or a leather substitute.

Finally, there is the matter of the wood. Quality hardwoods woods will have nice, even grains, free from knots or burrs. There will be no cracks or splits that are formed because the wood was to dried out when building the piano, and it will look consistently uniform in color even as it ages.

So, a quality piano will have good craftsmanship as well as good materials. You can never trust a piano based on its outside appearance or it's name brand. Always look inside the piano to assess quality. At a glance you can usually get a very fast, rough estimate of its quality simply by looking for neatness and order on the internal parts of the piano.

I hope you find this to be helpful! If you have any questions about your piano, please contact us through our website with your questions and pictures if you have them!

Alex Swanson
http://www.alexswansonmusic.com

Pianos of Today

Pianos of Today

History has seen many makes and models of pianos come and go. Some were good, innovative designs that are still employed today, and some were terrible ideas that were quickly forgotten.

Today there are four major styles that are produced. They are the spinet, a very short piano with a typically poor action and tone quality. The console (also called studio) piano which is short like the spinet but has longer strings and a better action. The upright piano which comes in various sizes, but typically utilizes a good action and long string lengths to achieve a decent touch or feel and good tone quality. And finally, we have the magnificent grand piano, who's long design provides a very refined, complex action that feels wonderful and very long strings producing excellent tone quality.

Today we'll be breaking down farther into the characteristics of each piano type to help you decide which piano is best for you, or for anyone who simply wants to know more about pianos.

• The Spinet

Spinet Piano

 Spinets are easily identified as such because they are the shortest of pianos. Because they are so short, they must employ a very compressed action, or more commonly a drop action.

Piano Drop Action

 As you can see, the key is attached to the action by a rod called a sticker that extends down into the piano to connect the action. This allows the action to sit below the keybed, which results in a shorter piano. However, the spinet action is not very precise, and often times (especially in cheap piano makes) has little to no dynamic range. This is undesirable for an advancing student, but sufficient for a new student who doesn't want to spend a lot of money on a piano or anyone who lives in a smaller home and needs to keep things small.

• Console/Studio

Console Piano

The console piano is a bit taller than the spinet, and the picture displayed is a shorter console model. They are produced in various sizes, but tend to stay to the short side. Because the piano is taller, there is room for a better action, one that uses no stickers at all, but is directly attached to the key. This is called the direct blow action.

Direct Blow Action

Because the action is connected directly to the key, more dynamic and expressive range is possible to acquire. This action typically feels better to play on than a spinet action as well. Because the piano is taller, the strings are longer resulting in a better tone quality than a spinet.

• Full Upright 

Upright Piano

The upright piano (also referred to as the "full" upright piano) is the tallest of the vertical pianos and therefore has the longest strings and a taller action. The upright action rests on top of the stickers, rather than below it.

Upright Action

The upright action is the most refined of the vertical piano actions, often having a great dynamic and expressive range as well as a comfortable touch and feel to it. The better tone quality and finer action make uprights the most popular vertical piano. These upright pianos are produced in various sizes, some being even as much as six feet tall.

• The Grand

Grand Piano

The grand piano is undoubtedly the most recognized instrument in the world. Its horizontal design allows for longer string lengths, a larger soundboard, and a very refined action. The grand piano is unmatched in comfortable feeling action amongst all instruments today. Some grand pianos are as much as twelve feet long, which allows for very long strings, a huge soundboard area, and a longer action.

Grand Action

The grand action is a very complex machine that has taken over three hundred years to develop, and it has come a very long way from the harpsichord and clavichord actions it was based off of.

In summary, the taller or longer your piano is, the better it will sound and feel. There are exceptions to this rule: poor production of that instrument, poor company or era, bad materials or manufacturer error. But in general, you can rely on this rule when picking a piano out for your home: go as big as you have space for or can afford.


Alex Swanson
http://www.alexswansonmusic.com