Music Trade Review
Issue: 1931 Vol. 90 N. 8 - Page 29
Music Trade Review -- © mbsi.org, arcade-museum.com -- digitized with support from namm.org
THE M U S I C T R A D E R E V I E W ,
solved in connection with oblong pianofortes
is concerned with the action. Owing to the
shallow space between keybed and strings,
there is no room to instal a double repetition
action, so that the touch is less elastic and
responsive than one finds in a well-regulat-
ed grand piano. The fact that the repetition
lever cannot find a place in the action and
that in consequence the touch is less delicate,
suggests that an attempt might be made to
secure more rapid checking of the hammer
by means of some auxiliary contrivance, per-
haps attached to the jack or to the hammer
knuckle. It is an interesting fact that recent-
ly a well-known New York piano manufac-
turer, Gordon G. Campbell, has patented an
action for small grand pianos which does
away with the repetition lever and at the
same time secures a satisfactory touch.
It is still too early to offer any definite
opinion on the new Mathushek instrument. I
can say however that to me it is intensely
interesting and that I am watching its prog-
DISTINCTIVE
TONE QUALITY
August, 1931
ress with the most careful attention. For a
long time I have believed that the time for
a new thought in shapes and styles was
already ripe; and it will be for me a most
intensely interesting task to watch the new
instrument and to see how it develops.
STEIN BUILDS VERTICALLY
Charles Frederick Stein is an interesting
person. He is making pianos of the highest
grade, and in these days of depression and
intense competition is selling enough of them
to keep going. He has restored, so to speak,
the old ideal of hand craftsmanship and each
piano that leaves his shop is as near to being
hand made as may be possible in these days.
Moreover Stein makes good pianos, pianos
good to hear, good to look at and good to
touch with the fingers upon the keyboard.
Hitherto he has made only grands. Now he
comes forward with an upright, of the same
quality and offered at a parallel price.
This is very interesting, if only because
trade opinion has inclined during several
years to the belief that the days of the high
class upright are completely passed away. Of
course it is easy to see what has caused the
decline in public demand for high class up-
rights. The grand piano is more beautiful
to look at, and carries with it an air of ex-
clusiveness, so to speak. The upright is not
beautiful. Moreover the cheapest pianos
have always been uprights. Yet a fine up-
right is, or at least can and should be, much
better tonally than a small cheap grand.
There is nothing to prevent the tonal beau-
ties of the finest piano being fully developed
in upright form.
Now of course the question is whether, if a
vertical piano be made today be small enough
not to be clumsy, and at the same time tonal-
BUREAU OF STANDARDS
TESTS PIANO ACTIONS
For generations Poehlmann
Music Wire and Fly Brand
Tuning Pins have made many
pianos famous for their re-
nowned tonal qualities.
The continued prestige of Fly Brand Pins
and Poehlmann Wire is due solely to
quality. Every detail is watched minutely.
Made from special drawn wire by men
who have done nothing else for a lifetime,
they embody every known requisite for
quality. That is why many manufacturers
of high-grade pianos demand Poehlmann
Wire and Fly Brand Pins.
SOLE AGENT U. S. A.
American Piano Supply Co.
Division of
HAMMACHER-SCHLEMMER
& COMPANY
104-106 East 13th Street
New York, N. Y.
The Bureau of Standards, Department of
Commerce, of Washington, D. C, made some
very interesting tests on piano actions at
their laboratories on July 8-9, 1931.
Three types of grand actions were tested
by the department, under the supervision of
Dr. Heyl. One was the accepted type of
standard design; the second was the Swiss
type of action, invented by Arthur Flint in
Boston some twenty-five years ago, and a cam
type of repeating action, patents for which
were recently taken out by Gordon Campbell
and Joseph Klepac.
Herewith is a table of the findings of the
department: Maximum repetition per minute
without dropping beats: Erard principle or
standard design, 787 beats per minute; Swiss
action, 716 beats per minutes; cam type,
• 1,602 beats per minute.
An attempt was made to standardize the
blows per minute at the speed of which a
musician would endeavor to repeat a single
note. This was estimated at 425 blows per
minute. It is exceedingly difficult to establish
this exact figure for direct comparisons and,
due to the highly sensitized timing mecha-
nism of the oscillograph, it was not possible
to get an identical number of blows. How-
ever, the comparison was close enough for
ascertaining the facts and measuring the
minimum escapement from the bottom of the
touch necessary to attain this positive repeti-
ly satisfactory, it can be made commercially
successful. There are those who believe that
the thing cannot be done. Stein is not of
their opinion.
UPRIGHT VS. GRAND SCALES
Within the last few days I have been en-
gaged, among other labors, in measuring the
tensions of the bass strings of a small upright
piano, three feet and six inches in height,
which is being made by a well-known eastern
manufacturer. I have, been much pleased
with the excellent lengths and weights which
the scale designer was able to get fcrr this
little instrument. If he had been making a
scale for a grand piano twelve inches longer
he almost certainly would not have had re-
sults as good. This little piano of which I
am speaking has of course a reduced scale,
beginning with F 9. If it had been designed
for full scale it of course would have been
somewhat taller, very likely to the extent of
six inches at least. The point however is
that a small vertical piano always possesses
advantages over a grand piano of corre-
sponding size. Thus, an upTight forty-eight
inches high ought to possess a scale better
balanced, of better design and tonally much
more efficient than could possibly be had from
a grand piano ten inches longer. The dis-
advantages of the upright rest on other
grounds. Its ugly shape, the clumsiness of
its appearance at any height greater than
about forty-five inches, its less elastic action,
and above all its muffled masked tone, put
the upright in a poor light compared with
the grand. Yet even the simple expedient
of turning the instrument around so that the
rear surface of its soundboard shall face to-
wards the center of the room, makes an enor-
mous tonal difference.
tion of the blows of the piano hammer.
The results were as follows: Erard prin-
ciple, 430 blows per minute; minimum clear-
ance, .169 inch. Swiss action, 447 blows per
minute; minimium clearance, .184 inch. Cam
action, 434 blows per minute; minimum
clearance, .123 inch.
A third test was the speed of travel of the
hammer under given blows on the key. The
oscillograph measured the length of time re-
quired for the hammer to travel the last three
millimeters to the string and rebound. A
weight of 170 grams, dead weight, was
placed on the end of the key. The Erard
type of action indicated that there was an
elapsed time of .008 second, and with the cam
action an elapsed time of only .006.
Estate
/HANUFACTORER
OF
BUCKSKIN.
1049—3rd S>i.
NORTH BERGEN, N. J
Tel.: 7—4367
THE M U S I C T R A D E R E V I E W ,
solved in connection with oblong pianofortes
is concerned with the action. Owing to the
shallow space between keybed and strings,
there is no room to instal a double repetition
action, so that the touch is less elastic and
responsive than one finds in a well-regulat-
ed grand piano. The fact that the repetition
lever cannot find a place in the action and
that in consequence the touch is less delicate,
suggests that an attempt might be made to
secure more rapid checking of the hammer
by means of some auxiliary contrivance, per-
haps attached to the jack or to the hammer
knuckle. It is an interesting fact that recent-
ly a well-known New York piano manufac-
turer, Gordon G. Campbell, has patented an
action for small grand pianos which does
away with the repetition lever and at the
same time secures a satisfactory touch.
It is still too early to offer any definite
opinion on the new Mathushek instrument. I
can say however that to me it is intensely
interesting and that I am watching its prog-
DISTINCTIVE
TONE QUALITY
August, 1931
ress with the most careful attention. For a
long time I have believed that the time for
a new thought in shapes and styles was
already ripe; and it will be for me a most
intensely interesting task to watch the new
instrument and to see how it develops.
STEIN BUILDS VERTICALLY
Charles Frederick Stein is an interesting
person. He is making pianos of the highest
grade, and in these days of depression and
intense competition is selling enough of them
to keep going. He has restored, so to speak,
the old ideal of hand craftsmanship and each
piano that leaves his shop is as near to being
hand made as may be possible in these days.
Moreover Stein makes good pianos, pianos
good to hear, good to look at and good to
touch with the fingers upon the keyboard.
Hitherto he has made only grands. Now he
comes forward with an upright, of the same
quality and offered at a parallel price.
This is very interesting, if only because
trade opinion has inclined during several
years to the belief that the days of the high
class upright are completely passed away. Of
course it is easy to see what has caused the
decline in public demand for high class up-
rights. The grand piano is more beautiful
to look at, and carries with it an air of ex-
clusiveness, so to speak. The upright is not
beautiful. Moreover the cheapest pianos
have always been uprights. Yet a fine up-
right is, or at least can and should be, much
better tonally than a small cheap grand.
There is nothing to prevent the tonal beau-
ties of the finest piano being fully developed
in upright form.
Now of course the question is whether, if a
vertical piano be made today be small enough
not to be clumsy, and at the same time tonal-
BUREAU OF STANDARDS
TESTS PIANO ACTIONS
For generations Poehlmann
Music Wire and Fly Brand
Tuning Pins have made many
pianos famous for their re-
nowned tonal qualities.
The continued prestige of Fly Brand Pins
and Poehlmann Wire is due solely to
quality. Every detail is watched minutely.
Made from special drawn wire by men
who have done nothing else for a lifetime,
they embody every known requisite for
quality. That is why many manufacturers
of high-grade pianos demand Poehlmann
Wire and Fly Brand Pins.
SOLE AGENT U. S. A.
American Piano Supply Co.
Division of
HAMMACHER-SCHLEMMER
& COMPANY
104-106 East 13th Street
New York, N. Y.
The Bureau of Standards, Department of
Commerce, of Washington, D. C, made some
very interesting tests on piano actions at
their laboratories on July 8-9, 1931.
Three types of grand actions were tested
by the department, under the supervision of
Dr. Heyl. One was the accepted type of
standard design; the second was the Swiss
type of action, invented by Arthur Flint in
Boston some twenty-five years ago, and a cam
type of repeating action, patents for which
were recently taken out by Gordon Campbell
and Joseph Klepac.
Herewith is a table of the findings of the
department: Maximum repetition per minute
without dropping beats: Erard principle or
standard design, 787 beats per minute; Swiss
action, 716 beats per minutes; cam type,
• 1,602 beats per minute.
An attempt was made to standardize the
blows per minute at the speed of which a
musician would endeavor to repeat a single
note. This was estimated at 425 blows per
minute. It is exceedingly difficult to establish
this exact figure for direct comparisons and,
due to the highly sensitized timing mecha-
nism of the oscillograph, it was not possible
to get an identical number of blows. How-
ever, the comparison was close enough for
ascertaining the facts and measuring the
minimum escapement from the bottom of the
touch necessary to attain this positive repeti-
ly satisfactory, it can be made commercially
successful. There are those who believe that
the thing cannot be done. Stein is not of
their opinion.
UPRIGHT VS. GRAND SCALES
Within the last few days I have been en-
gaged, among other labors, in measuring the
tensions of the bass strings of a small upright
piano, three feet and six inches in height,
which is being made by a well-known eastern
manufacturer. I have, been much pleased
with the excellent lengths and weights which
the scale designer was able to get fcrr this
little instrument. If he had been making a
scale for a grand piano twelve inches longer
he almost certainly would not have had re-
sults as good. This little piano of which I
am speaking has of course a reduced scale,
beginning with F 9. If it had been designed
for full scale it of course would have been
somewhat taller, very likely to the extent of
six inches at least. The point however is
that a small vertical piano always possesses
advantages over a grand piano of corre-
sponding size. Thus, an upTight forty-eight
inches high ought to possess a scale better
balanced, of better design and tonally much
more efficient than could possibly be had from
a grand piano ten inches longer. The dis-
advantages of the upright rest on other
grounds. Its ugly shape, the clumsiness of
its appearance at any height greater than
about forty-five inches, its less elastic action,
and above all its muffled masked tone, put
the upright in a poor light compared with
the grand. Yet even the simple expedient
of turning the instrument around so that the
rear surface of its soundboard shall face to-
wards the center of the room, makes an enor-
mous tonal difference.
tion of the blows of the piano hammer.
The results were as follows: Erard prin-
ciple, 430 blows per minute; minimum clear-
ance, .169 inch. Swiss action, 447 blows per
minute; minimium clearance, .184 inch. Cam
action, 434 blows per minute; minimum
clearance, .123 inch.
A third test was the speed of travel of the
hammer under given blows on the key. The
oscillograph measured the length of time re-
quired for the hammer to travel the last three
millimeters to the string and rebound. A
weight of 170 grams, dead weight, was
placed on the end of the key. The Erard
type of action indicated that there was an
elapsed time of .008 second, and with the cam
action an elapsed time of only .006.
Estate
/HANUFACTORER
OF
BUCKSKIN.
1049—3rd S>i.
NORTH BERGEN, N. J
Tel.: 7—4367
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