Music Trade Review
Issue: 1920 Vol. 71 N. 10 - Page 13
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13
THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW
SEPTEMBER 4, 1920
OurTECHNlCAL DEPARTMENT
CONDUCTED BT WILLIAM BRAID WHITE
THE STANDARDIZING OF THE MINIATURE GRAND PIANO
The Problems of Construction in Connection With the Small Grand Are Problems of Reduction
Rather Than of New Principles—The Relation of the Seven-foot Scale to the Miniature Grand
No matter how much the designer may sigh parcel and which belongs to every horizontal
tor more space in which to work he is not likely piano. On the other hand, however, eyen the
to have his wishes gratified in these days of grow- smallest well-designed grand piano has about it
ing demand for the very smallest possible in something, characteristically free and noble,
horizontal pianos. Over and over again I have both as to touch and as to tone. I say "well-
had the pleasure, not to mention the labor, of designed," for there are grand pianos which, in
carrying readers of this department through the fact, are a shape and nothing else.
deserts which surround the great question, "Is
How near to the tonal quality of a large grand
a very small grand piano a real grand?" Some piano can a small grand approach? That, I
feel, not entirely without reason, that a very take it, is the meat^of the problem for the ordi-
small grand is a "shape" and not a "tone"; that nary average reader of this page. The ques-
there is, in fact, a sort of definite "grand tone" tion may be answered fairly accurately.
which is, and of right ought to be, associated
A Question of Expert Work
with the grand piano, under any and all circum-
So long as the size of such a piano is not
stances. This "grand tone" thus assumed is altogether too small the approach to the stand-
supposed to be unattainable in a piano much less ard of beautiful tone shown by a large grand
than six feet long. Those who hold this opin- may be attained as closely as one chooses to
ion are therefore convinced that there is no lavish on the work scientific skill and care.
such thing as a miniature "grand piano"; but 1 he dividing line must be placed at a point
maintain that the very small horizontal instru- where the higher bass strings and those nearest
ment simply embodies ordinary "upright tone" them on the treble side can neither be short-
in horizontal shape.
ened further nor counter-weighted without in-
troducing disturbing factors which entirely
A Definition of Terms
The whole argument, like so many arguments spoil the attempted corrections. The reader
of the sort, rests upon a misunderstanding of may have his own ideas as to what actual string
terms. It is perfectly true that the tone of a lengths are here permissible. For myself, I am
very fine seven-foot grand piano is vastly dif- satisfied that the twenty-ninth unison, counted
ferent from that of an ordinary upright. It is from the bass, ought to be the last unison on
quite true that in the one case we have a "grand the treble side and ought in no circumstances
tone" entirely different from what we may call to be less than forty inches long. Its right
the "upright tone." But at the same time it length is a little more than forty-three inches.
is true that there are line upright pianos which The nearer it can be brought to this length the
approach very closely, indeed, to this attainment, better for all concerned. In no case should one
while it is quite safe to say that save at the try to design a grand piano where this unison
extremities of the series it is not at all easy to on the treble side is less than forty inches long.
determine, without sight of the instrument,
The experiment has been tried of ending the
whether grand or upright is being heard, at treble strings at unison number 30, and if this is
least when pianos of high excellence are used. done unison number 29 may be placed on the
There exists, without doubt, what may be bass side. In this case, however, it will prob-
called a "seven-foot-grand" tone, easily recog- ably be necessary to wind this string on a No.
nizable as against what may be' called the ordi- 10 wire with No. 34 copper core.
As for the bass string lengths, if the point
nary commercial upright tone. But it does not
follow that there is a general tone quality which mentioned above is attended to it is not neces-
may be wrapped up in a sort of psychological sary to give any figures, for the length of the
piano is already sufficiently determined. Of
course, it will be understood that 1 refer to the
vibrating length of the string; that is to say, the
length from the plate bearing to the first pin on
TUNERS and DEALERS
Get This New Ukulele Attachment
Perfect Fit to Any Scale
Handy Control, Trouble Proof, Durable
and Installed in Half Hour. Money and
Time Saver. Price $4.75—$50.00 per doz.
Send for Circular
P.&F. MFG. CO., Minster, Ohio
TUNERS
Vanish A ££
The Magic Scratch RemoVer obliterates Varnish
Scratches instantly and completely. A wipe with
the pencil and Magic Oil Brush and the scratch
disappears. Every piano delivery man should have
one in his pocket.
o
¥?f<»<»
» r r Order
S*"* 1 a n half
money.
F r e e Trial
iriai O
W f l f i f e
dozen
Here are
BASS STRINGS
Special attention olvsn to th« needt of the tuner and tko dealer
OTTO TREFZ
2110 Kiilriuoutit Avenue
Varnish Scratches
the sound-board bridge. From hitch-pin to
tuning pin will be at least ten inches longer.
The reader can determine from the above
statements how far he can go in reducing the
size of his grand piano, but it is obvious that
within these limits an instrument can be pro-
duced quite small enough for any reasonable
requirements.
The Loading Limit
From what has already been said regarding
the seven-foot scale the reader will know how
to lay out the string lengths until he reaches the
point where he must shorten. In this matter
let us consider with some care the fundamental
needs of the case.
From experience and from the results of
many careful tests it is certain that strings less
than forty inches in length cannot be expected
to give satisfactory tonal results if they are
loaded with very heavy wire. Yet, in fact, if the
tension level adopted is above 150 pounds per
wire it is certain that the strings at the break
on the treble side of a miniature grand will need
loading with wire as heavy as No. 21. The
twenty-ninth unison at a length of forty-two
inches can be loaded with No. 21 wire, which will
assure a better tonal result. But to take a string
as short as, say, thirty-eight inches, and load it
as high as twenty-one wire, which in this case
will be necessary, means that the tonal result will
not be so good. 1 do not mean that it will be
hopelessly bad, but that it will be distinctly
inferior, due to the inability of the loaded
string to vibrate with a sufficiently strong funda-
mental. The tuner will find it harder to tune
and the tone regulator will discover at this spot
a bad softish place. If the string must be so
short it will better to put it on the bass side
or else to load it by winding light copper wire
over a light core, as mentioned above.
For such reasons as these the reader will per-
ceive that it will be a great deal better to string
the very small grand on a considerably lighter
scale, from the beginning. If, for instance, the
wire begins at No. 12 gauge-on unison No. 88
and continues down one whole number lighter
than we calculated for the seven-foot scale the
general result will be much more satisfactory.
The general tone will be more mellow and there
will be less trouble in adjusting the tonal re-
quirements at the break. A perfect example
of the truth of this statement is to be found in
the remarkable low-tension grand designed by
Mehlin & Sons and named by them the Viola-
grand.
Bass Loading
Similar reasoning applies to the bass strings.
It is not possible to lay these out within the
low-tension limits mentioned above, but they
can be brought within about fifteen pounds of
these limits. In order to make this possible the
(Continued on page 14)
sent postpaid at $2.60.
Try them.
At the
end of 30 days either pay for them or return
at our expense.
The M. L. Campbell Co.
713 E. 19th St.,
Kansas City, Mo.
Philadelphia. Pa.
FAUST SCHOOL
OF TUNING
Standard of America
Alumni of 2000
Piano Tuning, Pipe and Reed Org*n
and Player Piano. Year Book Free.
27-29 Gainsboro Street
BOSTON, MASS.
In it's 2 0 ^ e a r
with upwards of
A 1OOO
SUCCESSFUL
GRADUATES
ADOR.KS*
COURTHOUSE SQ.
^VALPARAISOINDj
The TUNER'S FRIEND
Old style bridle strep
New style all leather bridle strap
BRAUNSDORF'S ALL LEATHER BRIDLE STRAPS
Labor Saving; Mouse Proof; Guaranteed a l l one length
Send for Samples.
Prices on Request
Felts and Cloths in any Quantities
GEO. W. BRAUNSDORF, Inc.,
Braunsdorf's Other Specialties
Paper,
Felt
and Cloth
Punchings, Fibre Washers
and Bridges for
Pianos, Organs and
Player Actions
Office and Factory:
430 East 53rd St., New York
IBMXMAIK
13
THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW
SEPTEMBER 4, 1920
OurTECHNlCAL DEPARTMENT
CONDUCTED BT WILLIAM BRAID WHITE
THE STANDARDIZING OF THE MINIATURE GRAND PIANO
The Problems of Construction in Connection With the Small Grand Are Problems of Reduction
Rather Than of New Principles—The Relation of the Seven-foot Scale to the Miniature Grand
No matter how much the designer may sigh parcel and which belongs to every horizontal
tor more space in which to work he is not likely piano. On the other hand, however, eyen the
to have his wishes gratified in these days of grow- smallest well-designed grand piano has about it
ing demand for the very smallest possible in something, characteristically free and noble,
horizontal pianos. Over and over again I have both as to touch and as to tone. I say "well-
had the pleasure, not to mention the labor, of designed," for there are grand pianos which, in
carrying readers of this department through the fact, are a shape and nothing else.
deserts which surround the great question, "Is
How near to the tonal quality of a large grand
a very small grand piano a real grand?" Some piano can a small grand approach? That, I
feel, not entirely without reason, that a very take it, is the meat^of the problem for the ordi-
small grand is a "shape" and not a "tone"; that nary average reader of this page. The ques-
there is, in fact, a sort of definite "grand tone" tion may be answered fairly accurately.
which is, and of right ought to be, associated
A Question of Expert Work
with the grand piano, under any and all circum-
So long as the size of such a piano is not
stances. This "grand tone" thus assumed is altogether too small the approach to the stand-
supposed to be unattainable in a piano much less ard of beautiful tone shown by a large grand
than six feet long. Those who hold this opin- may be attained as closely as one chooses to
ion are therefore convinced that there is no lavish on the work scientific skill and care.
such thing as a miniature "grand piano"; but 1 he dividing line must be placed at a point
maintain that the very small horizontal instru- where the higher bass strings and those nearest
ment simply embodies ordinary "upright tone" them on the treble side can neither be short-
in horizontal shape.
ened further nor counter-weighted without in-
troducing disturbing factors which entirely
A Definition of Terms
The whole argument, like so many arguments spoil the attempted corrections. The reader
of the sort, rests upon a misunderstanding of may have his own ideas as to what actual string
terms. It is perfectly true that the tone of a lengths are here permissible. For myself, I am
very fine seven-foot grand piano is vastly dif- satisfied that the twenty-ninth unison, counted
ferent from that of an ordinary upright. It is from the bass, ought to be the last unison on
quite true that in the one case we have a "grand the treble side and ought in no circumstances
tone" entirely different from what we may call to be less than forty inches long. Its right
the "upright tone." But at the same time it length is a little more than forty-three inches.
is true that there are line upright pianos which The nearer it can be brought to this length the
approach very closely, indeed, to this attainment, better for all concerned. In no case should one
while it is quite safe to say that save at the try to design a grand piano where this unison
extremities of the series it is not at all easy to on the treble side is less than forty inches long.
determine, without sight of the instrument,
The experiment has been tried of ending the
whether grand or upright is being heard, at treble strings at unison number 30, and if this is
least when pianos of high excellence are used. done unison number 29 may be placed on the
There exists, without doubt, what may be bass side. In this case, however, it will prob-
called a "seven-foot-grand" tone, easily recog- ably be necessary to wind this string on a No.
nizable as against what may be' called the ordi- 10 wire with No. 34 copper core.
As for the bass string lengths, if the point
nary commercial upright tone. But it does not
follow that there is a general tone quality which mentioned above is attended to it is not neces-
may be wrapped up in a sort of psychological sary to give any figures, for the length of the
piano is already sufficiently determined. Of
course, it will be understood that 1 refer to the
vibrating length of the string; that is to say, the
length from the plate bearing to the first pin on
TUNERS and DEALERS
Get This New Ukulele Attachment
Perfect Fit to Any Scale
Handy Control, Trouble Proof, Durable
and Installed in Half Hour. Money and
Time Saver. Price $4.75—$50.00 per doz.
Send for Circular
P.&F. MFG. CO., Minster, Ohio
TUNERS
Vanish A ££
The Magic Scratch RemoVer obliterates Varnish
Scratches instantly and completely. A wipe with
the pencil and Magic Oil Brush and the scratch
disappears. Every piano delivery man should have
one in his pocket.
o
¥?f<»<»
» r r Order
S*"* 1 a n half
money.
F r e e Trial
iriai O
W f l f i f e
dozen
Here are
BASS STRINGS
Special attention olvsn to th« needt of the tuner and tko dealer
OTTO TREFZ
2110 Kiilriuoutit Avenue
Varnish Scratches
the sound-board bridge. From hitch-pin to
tuning pin will be at least ten inches longer.
The reader can determine from the above
statements how far he can go in reducing the
size of his grand piano, but it is obvious that
within these limits an instrument can be pro-
duced quite small enough for any reasonable
requirements.
The Loading Limit
From what has already been said regarding
the seven-foot scale the reader will know how
to lay out the string lengths until he reaches the
point where he must shorten. In this matter
let us consider with some care the fundamental
needs of the case.
From experience and from the results of
many careful tests it is certain that strings less
than forty inches in length cannot be expected
to give satisfactory tonal results if they are
loaded with very heavy wire. Yet, in fact, if the
tension level adopted is above 150 pounds per
wire it is certain that the strings at the break
on the treble side of a miniature grand will need
loading with wire as heavy as No. 21. The
twenty-ninth unison at a length of forty-two
inches can be loaded with No. 21 wire, which will
assure a better tonal result. But to take a string
as short as, say, thirty-eight inches, and load it
as high as twenty-one wire, which in this case
will be necessary, means that the tonal result will
not be so good. 1 do not mean that it will be
hopelessly bad, but that it will be distinctly
inferior, due to the inability of the loaded
string to vibrate with a sufficiently strong funda-
mental. The tuner will find it harder to tune
and the tone regulator will discover at this spot
a bad softish place. If the string must be so
short it will better to put it on the bass side
or else to load it by winding light copper wire
over a light core, as mentioned above.
For such reasons as these the reader will per-
ceive that it will be a great deal better to string
the very small grand on a considerably lighter
scale, from the beginning. If, for instance, the
wire begins at No. 12 gauge-on unison No. 88
and continues down one whole number lighter
than we calculated for the seven-foot scale the
general result will be much more satisfactory.
The general tone will be more mellow and there
will be less trouble in adjusting the tonal re-
quirements at the break. A perfect example
of the truth of this statement is to be found in
the remarkable low-tension grand designed by
Mehlin & Sons and named by them the Viola-
grand.
Bass Loading
Similar reasoning applies to the bass strings.
It is not possible to lay these out within the
low-tension limits mentioned above, but they
can be brought within about fifteen pounds of
these limits. In order to make this possible the
(Continued on page 14)
sent postpaid at $2.60.
Try them.
At the
end of 30 days either pay for them or return
at our expense.
The M. L. Campbell Co.
713 E. 19th St.,
Kansas City, Mo.
Philadelphia. Pa.
FAUST SCHOOL
OF TUNING
Standard of America
Alumni of 2000
Piano Tuning, Pipe and Reed Org*n
and Player Piano. Year Book Free.
27-29 Gainsboro Street
BOSTON, MASS.
In it's 2 0 ^ e a r
with upwards of
A 1OOO
SUCCESSFUL
GRADUATES
ADOR.KS*
COURTHOUSE SQ.
^VALPARAISOINDj
The TUNER'S FRIEND
Old style bridle strep
New style all leather bridle strap
BRAUNSDORF'S ALL LEATHER BRIDLE STRAPS
Labor Saving; Mouse Proof; Guaranteed a l l one length
Send for Samples.
Prices on Request
Felts and Cloths in any Quantities
GEO. W. BRAUNSDORF, Inc.,
Braunsdorf's Other Specialties
Paper,
Felt
and Cloth
Punchings, Fibre Washers
and Bridges for
Pianos, Organs and
Player Actions
Office and Factory:
430 East 53rd St., New York
IBMXMAIK
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