Cracked soundboard upright piano

Make sure its not cracked and that the ribs, pins, and bridges inside arent cracked or broken. Theres another strategy for upright pianos, though, which a lot of musicians dont consider, and that is miking the soundboard from behind the piano something that was done, for example, on a bunch of jerry lee lewis records. Many vintage steinway and sons grand pianos and upright pianos exhibit cracking and. Upright plates are cleaned and regilded, and soundboards are. In a grand piano, the sound board is part of the case. The pianos action is the mechanism that causes the felt hammers to strike the strings when you play a key.

If you already own a piano with a cracked soundboard, dont despair. In an upright piano, the sound board is a large vertical plate at the back of the instrument. Piano repair piano defects and damaged fixed during piano. 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. As always, if youre selling, offer a fair price to your buyer based on the condition and age of the piano. There are certain things you should know about soundboards. The ribs run perpendicular to the grain of the soundboard, and therefore perpendicular to any cracks. What is a sound board how to check your piano sound board. Repairing or replacing a pianos soundboard bradfield piano.

A new soundboard is custom tapered and fitted into the specific piano. The soundboards function is to take and repeat the vibrational movements of the strings, creating air sound waves that are vastly greater than. You are looking at the front of the sound board area and the lower end of the treble bridge in the lower left an upright from the turn of the century from leipzig. The heart and soul of your piano is its soundboard. All who heard the piano gave kind comments on the sound, so it worked.

For this reason, a crack in the soundboard reduces the soundboard s ability to amplify the vibrations of the strings only in relation to how much of the surface area the crack reduces the vibrating area of the board. Cracks can be repaired, retaining the original soundboard. I keep hearing those words about doomed pianos, and wonder why they have to be doomed. Sometimes when the soundboard gets cracks in it, the ribs come unglued from it in places. It should be remembered, however, that it is the strings, and not the soundboard, that originate, by their vibratory motions after they have been struck, the sound which the soundboard amplifies. In extreme cases, cracked boards can produce a buzzing sound, but this can be corrected through repair.

Look inside for hammers scooped in the middle by too many hours most used steinways have this problem hammer shafts bent, cracked iron frame, mouse eaten. I want to be sure the soundboard isnt crackedi dont want a heavy piece of junk in my living room. The soundboard is what allows the piano to project its sound. Repair of rib separations can usually be done at reasonable cost without rebuilding the piano. Thus, the soundboard of the piano acts just as does the parchment head of a drum or the thin steel diaphragm of the receiver element in a telephone. If you open up the lid of either your upright or grand piano and look down, you will see. Cracks and rib separations are usually repaired at. 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. I cant count the number of times someone has said to me. The sound board, depending on the instrument, is called a top plate, table, soundtable, or belly.

Donating, converting, or recycling your piano pianobuyer. Soundboard cracks are glued and set as needed, and bridge repairs are made as needed. Unless you hear strange noises, you might not need to repair a cracked soundboard. Recording techniques for upright piano sound on sound. If you notice a soundboard crack in a piano you are looking to buy, be sure to have a qualified piano technician look at it first a good idea to begin with when buying a used piano. A cracked harp plate is an important issue, but in most cases can be remedied by new technologies in welding and mending. 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. Soundboard repair oxford piano service piano tuning. A good quality soundboard can l ast 100 years or more. On the back of it, it has one inch ribs which stabilize it by running against the grain of the sound board. If theres no resulting buzzing sound, does it have to be the kiss of death. The soundboard is a large, thin wooden plate which acts as an amplifier of the sound produced by the vibrating strings its purpose is to radiate a large volume of sound over a wide frequency range. The good news is that this has nothing to do with the tuning.

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. A piano with a cracked soundboard should be carefully checked for rib separations before purchase. Years of vibration and climate changes can cause the soundboard s pieces to split at the seams. Its exciting has to be an upright or my wife will throw the veto.

A piano with a cracked soundboard should be carefully checked for. An upright piano, spinet through upright grand sizes, cannot be slid off of the tuning pins as the keybed limits movement in that direction. If the crack is small, but wide, it can be cleaned and a soundboard shim can be installed fairly simply. There is a crack in my pianos sound board, caused, i believe, by being stored in an arid place. Graymarket pianos and cracked soundboards pianobuyer. A pianos soundboard is one of the most important pieces on a piano. But before we go any further we must be sure we all know where and what is a soundboard and why it cracks. Bartolomeo cristofori may 4, 1655, january 27, 1731 invented the piano forte. T he pianos that have their soundboards replaced are often vintage pianos or pianos that have been exposed to adverse conditions. Perhaps it looks less like a smooth, machined piece of carpentry and more like a freight pallet.

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. For this reason, a crack in the soundboard reduces the soundboards ability to amplify the vibrations of the strings only in relation to how much of the surface area the crack reduces the vibrating area of the board. It all depends see our article on the subject here. Soundboards vary in size depending on how large the piano is.

It really only needs to be done if the crack is large wide and long enough to cause the soundboard to buzz or if if the sound of the instrument is adversely affected by the crack. If theres major damage to the piano, such as cracked soundboard, mould or woodworm, i would suggest that you might have great difficulty finding a buyer. During restauration, they dried the piano down to 20 percent humidity, so that even some more cracks occured during that. It is a tricky clamping job, as planks want to swim. These cracks cause buzzing and lack of power in the instrument. Cracks in a piano soundboard are common and often are not sufficient reason to replace a soundboard. One method for repairing cracks in a soundboard requires inserting a shim of wood into the cracked board. A piano s soundboard is one of the most important pieces on a piano. Like the top of a stradivarius violin, the soundboard is the wood beneath all the strings and plate of the piano which gives it its unique quality of sound. A soundboard is made up of many planks, which are planed and fitted one to another extremely precisely, to ensure a strong glue joint that is never to come apart. Cheap pianos can have a laminated soundboard similar to plywood and this doesnt vibrate so freel.

When purchasing a grand piano dont buy one with a cracked soundboard, a pressure ridge or 2 is all right. After that they filled the cracks, and put the soundboard back to convex shape. Just curious what, really, is the big deal about a cracked soundboard on an older piano. Piano soundboard restoration is an exacting and timed honed process. You can trust bradfield piano for your soundboard repair and replacement needs. The vertical or upright piano is the most popular type, because it takes up the least floor space. The frame in cheaper old upright pianos is often half plate in nearly all pianos made after 1880 is mairony cast iron. Precision piano services can repair extensive damage or defects on fine. Many soundboard cracks are irrelevant, as they do not affect the sound of the piano unless the soundboard has come loose from the ribs. This usually will eliminate the offending noise when the piano is played. In a traditionally made, solid spruce soundboard, the crown is maintained by. Brigham larson, registered piano technician, dispels the myth that a broken soundboard always means a piano is no longer playable. Many of the severe problems i have named in previous paragraphs cracked soundboard, split bridges, cracked pin. Soundboard areas vary with the size of various pianos, but consider for example a board with an area of 4,000 square inches, counting both surfaces.

Thats why its essential to conduct regular maintenance and repair of your soundboard. I know that the piano is just junk to a serious pianist, but id like to try and repair it and have it tuned. 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. If the crack is small and doesnt buzz, theres no need to fix it. Cracked soundboards piano tuning in edmonton daniels piano. 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. At least on the east coast, i would think most soundboards will be cracked. I need you to take a look at this piano and tell me if i should buy it. In europe if you replace the soundboard on a piano you are legally not allowed to put the name of the original manufacturer on the instrument. If the keybed is fully removed then it may work, but at that point it would have just been easier to build a piano mockup from plywood and lumber.

Once you get to the point where strings need to be removed, the labor charges go up. Soundboard cracks demystified south jersey piano service. Open the lid of your upright or grand piano, and youll see a shiny, thin piece of wood beneath the iron plate that runs along the back or bottom of your instrument. After purchase, make sure you protect your instrument by keeping humidity levels between 35 and 65% and you should be ok. The sound board is a five eighths inch thick wooden board in the back of the piano. When manufactured, the soundboard has built into it a curvature or crown. If you look under your strings in a grand piano or at the back of your upright behind the posts you will see the soundboard.

Whether you have a grand piano or an upright piano, fixing cracks is one of the most common soundboard repairs. A large, fullsize upright piano has longer strings and a larger soundboard than a baby grand piano. 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. 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. How costly is it to fixed a cracked sound board in a piano. Id like to have it tuned and learn to play it, however, it has a cracked sound board. On upright pianos, you have to lift the top and look above the tuning pins. Most pianos on the east coast have cracked soundboards. 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. All stringed instruments have some type of soundboard most are built directly into the body of the instrument, such as the violin or the harp. We use a router and a custom jig to remove the cracked wood and create a smooth, even groove. A cracked pinblock can be replaced, and a cracked soundboard can certainly be repaired or replaced. Piano restoration costs piano restoration pricing guide 2019. 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.

Best upright piano classical piano music piano street. You also have to take into account that the results you have after replacing the soundboard might be. So youve noticed the soundboard of your piano has a crackor perhaps many cracks. A cracked soundboard doesnt necessarily affect the ability of the piano to make music, and so the piano may be acceptable as a donation. Any separation of a rib from the soundboard at a crack is a potential source of buzzing noises. Ask about it at your next tuning or when scheduling your. 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. A cracked soundboard can be repaired, many times without rebuilding the whole piano, at a very reasonable cost.