Post pictures of your pianos here!
ShiroKuro that’s a wonderful piano studio!!
Thanks. If you're local, you're welcome to come see it. It's a space that evolved, originally from being just a junk room to what it is now over a 10+ year period. We originally had my Weber 208cm in the living room. During a floor refinishing project it went into the room that became the studio, and... I realized that was the best place for the music to happen. And so it began.
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Seeker OK - I am starting to find pictures of the Steinert. Here's the first showing some of the interior during
the work done by Cantabile. The soundboard is the original 1929 board which we were fortunate enough to be able to use retaining the character of the piano, and you can see some of the detail of the new bridgecap which, along with whatever magic Luis did at Cantabile has resulted in that original sound retained yet enhanced.
cheeeeee Beautiful piano! I wonder how decision was made in terms of whether to replace or repair the original soundboard. Condition must be a determining factor?
Is the studio a teaching studio or a recording studio? If the former, your students are lucky!
Hey cheeeeee. When I bought the piano about 10 years ago, the board had been repaired, not so much the bridge cap. Over the years, Jim Colwell (my long time technician friend) did what he could to save the bridge applying superglue in various places as well as the base of the bridge pins. It helped, but ultimately, the piano lost some of its "oomph" where there were stress cracks in the cap, albeit filled ones. The board really was in good enough shape, though I left that decision to Luis and Jim to let me know. I really didn't want to change it, because then I would have had a different piano, instead of a renewed piano with the sound I knew and loved.
The studio is used for teaching (I usually put students on the Bechstein for a while so I can monitor them very closely, and the Bechstein is a unique experience for them...). I also coach/record singers and instrumentalists in it. With the sound treatments you see I have had some substantial operatic voices singing quite loudly, and we've been able to work together well in it. One thing that made a huge difference aside from the other acoustic treatments you see in the other picture of the two pianos, can be seen towards the tail of the Steinert - tan fabric up against the wall. That is for a corner "bass trap" that I bought pre-assembled and mounted in the corner. It cleaned up all the muddiness and overemphasis that can happen when you put a piano near the wall, and even worse, when you put it against the wall in a corner. With the bass trap, the bass is clear and blends well with the other frequencies.
As I get my strength back (I'm recovering from abdominal surgery...), I'm going to make a few recordings of shorter, simpler (but not terribly easy) pieces - first on the Bechstein, then on the Steinert. This will give people a chance to hear the differences in the tonalities, and I think it should be interesting listening.
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Seeker The board really was in good enough shape, though I left that decision to Luis and Jim to let me know. I really didn't want to change it, because then I would have had a different piano, instead of a renewed piano with the sound I knew and loved.
It’s so lucky that they were able to save the board for you. My own rebuilt was originally from 1915. The board was too broken to be restored. I’m always curious in terms of how much the change of the sound board can change the personality of the piano. It’d be hard to do a before-after comparison since the before condition is typically bad.
Seeker One thing that made a huge difference aside from the other acoustic treatments you see in the other picture of the two pianos, can be seen towards the tail of the Steinert - tan fabric up against the wall. That is for a corner "bass trap" that I bought pre-assembled and mounted in the corner. It cleaned up all the muddiness and overemphasis that can happen when you put a piano near the wall, and even worse, when you put it against the wall in a corner. With the bass trap, the bass is clear and blends well with the other frequencies.
Wow, thanks for sharing this! My piano is set exactly against the wall in a corner. I’ve got to look into the bass trap.
Seeker As I get my strength back (I'm recovering from abdominal surgery...), I'm going to make a few recordings of shorter, simpler (but not terribly easy) pieces - first on the Bechstein, then on the Steinert.
Wish you a speedy recovery! Looking forward to the recordings.
cheeeeee Wow, thanks for sharing this! My piano is set exactly against the wall in a corner. I’ve got to look into the bass trap.
This is the one I have https://www.atsacoustics.com/corner-bass-trap-b.html
Seeker This is the one I have https://www.atsacoustics.com/corner-bass-trap-b.html
Thank you! Good to know there are a lot of choices. I’ll ask my tech to give some suggestions.
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This is taking up somewhat more room than I expected, even though I used a floor pattern and digital layouts. This may not be the final layout, and I haven't thought about a name for the piano yet, but excited to finally have a grand piano!
Edit: I think I will call her Lili, since the first pieces I played on her were by Lili Boulanger. I hope her life will last much longer than her namesake, though.
"You're a smart kid. But your playing is terribly dull."
TheBoringPianist This may not be the final layout,
Looking at the rug, etc, perhaps a 90 degree rotation putting your back and the keyboard towards the wall could work?
Looks great! Do you have a couple more angles, particularly how close the bass end is to the wall? It can be hard to judge space/distance from a single photo.
Seeker Looking at the rug, etc, perhaps a 90 degree rotation putting your back and the keyboard towards the wall could work?
You can't tell in the photo, but the kitchen actually runs along the wall where I'm taking the photo from. Wide-angle photo makes it look like there is more space than there actually is — there's only about 3 ft of space between the side of the piano and the countertop.
Gombessa Looks great! Do you have a couple more angles, particularly how close the bass end is to the wall? It can be hard to judge space/distance from a single photo.
Here's a couple photos (excuse the mess, I may redact these later) that give a better sense of the space and how close the kitchen is:
Also out of view is a large TV/console at the far end where the kitchen counter ends and the sofa seating area begins. The window end of the room was another option for putting the piano, with the main concerns being afternoon sun exposure from SW-facing windows, greater exposure to outside temp/humidity fluctuations with the balcony door, and not being sure where to put the TV.
"You're a smart kid. But your playing is terribly dull."
TheBoringPianist I’m sure it may feel a little cramped, but it looks great! I hadn’t realized it was a Hidden Beauty model.
Fantastic Room - I would LOVE to be there playing in that environment! Congratulations on a job well done.