Thread: Grand piano restoration

Originally Posted by gonetropo

i had to microphone up one years ago, it was a cast iron frame, is this bronze/brass or plated iron ??
in the end i fitted a boundary layer mic to the underside of the lid, worked bloody well too

its painted cast iron.
My wife has a condenser Mic that records well with her ensemble of piano, singer and flute. She moves it around and adjusts the pre-amp to suit

Originally Posted by stevodog

its painted cast iron.
My wife has a condenser Mic that records well with her ensemble of piano, singer and flute. She moves it around and adjusts the pre-amp to suit

condenser mics are fine but do not like "sharp attack" audio as they tend to compress the audio and make it sound metallic.
but if a piano was awful to mic up a pipe organ was a frickin nightmare !!! i did 2 of them and it was a nightmare

Got 4 piano's in the old homestead. All 4 are 'Player Piano's'. Got about 200 piano rolls dating back to early last century which are a mix of classical and honkytonk. Also have titles from Phantom of the opera, Les Mis etc.
Had to replace the tubing on one a few years back and did some minor repair work on the others but now they all work.....After 'playing' 6 or 7 rolls I feel like I have been to the gym as they are pedal powered.

Originally Posted by stevodog

Haha, good tail @gundoc. Would be all fishermen and smelter workers and families in bluff?

In those days it was fishermen, wharfies and freezing workers mainly. The smelter was not built until later. Mates and I used to row over to Tiwai in a tin dingy and shoot rabbits as it was nothing but desolate waste land.

Originally Posted by Allgood

Got 4 piano's in the old homestead. All 4 are 'Player Piano's'. Got about 200 piano rolls dating back to early last century which are a mix of classical and honkytonk. Also have titles from Phantom of the opera, Les Mis etc.
Had to replace the tubing on one a few years back and did some minor repair work on the others but now they all work.....After 'playing' 6 or 7 rolls I feel like I have been to the gym as they are pedal powered.

my dad would love that. He's always getting the wife to playhonky tonk and ragtime tunes

Originally Posted by gonetropo

condenser mics are fine but do not like "sharp attack" audio as they tend to compress the audio and make it sound metallic.
but if a piano was awful to mic up a pipe organ was a frickin nightmare !!! i did 2 of them and it was a nightmare

yeah I bet. I don't think we'd be able to establish a balanced sound if getting too complicated. That's why they have sound engineers right?

Originally Posted by stevodog

yeah I bet. I don't think we'd be able to establish a balanced sound if getting too complicated. That's why they have sound engineers right?

unless you can capture the original sound you are wasting your time, well unless you are in recording what's now commercial audio. i have been in the studio with some people and what they sung to what you get is 2 different stories i assure you

Very nice, some family friends have an early 1800s Erard, have always liked what a grand brings to a house, would love a baby grand at some point. Impressed with the finish you are achieving, looks a very satisfying project and nice way to add your mark to something with a strong future

Yes, its coming up better than expected. Sound should be big and balanced.
Erards are great pianos with a nuanced sweet balanced sound. Some enthusiasts think these era pianos were made of superior tone woods and have better sound. Actions can be worked to be better than new though still aren't quite as crisp as a modern action. This isn't seen as an impediment to the adept.

Opinion parroted from my wife

another night on the polish here. Action went in today and wife is impressed with the touch and control. Regulating and tuning tomorrow, so first concert pitch notes soon.