by Tony Magee
New York Steinway S/N 56873.
According to the Steinway and Sons website, this piano was manufactured in 1885.
Steinway and Sons serial number lookup is here.
The instrument is an 85 note Model A, Style 1, with three bridges and wire-wound tri-chords in lower tenor.
I acquired the instrument in 2018 from Christopher Davis, owner of DW Music, Canberra, which is a Yamaha piano dealership.
Where Chris got it from I can't remember at the moment, but I'll find out.
It was a wreck and I think many technicians would have written it off as not worth the effort.
Cabinet terrible, pin-block questionable - certainly there were many pins unable to hold string tension.
The action was totally unplayable.
But...it was a Steinway and I'd never owned one, so my curiosity was aroused. I wanted to own it and I was up for a challenge!
I'll cut to the chase - after almost two years of periodic but methodical work, the old girl is playable and presentable. See below (under the pictures) for more detailed info on the work I've done.
It is NOT a restoration, but I've done much to make it enjoyable to play, sound good and look good.
Pictures show before and after.
 |
| New Steinway logo on repainted fall-board (see story in final pic below) |
Finished! Steinway in New York sent me a new logo for the fall-board (in picture). That was August 2018 and there was a note in with the package saying I was the last person they would do this with anywhere in the world. Too many people had been ordering the Steinway logo and attaching it to non-Steinway pianos, to try and pass them off as the real thing, or as the email from them says (see below), rebuilding old Steinways using non-genuine Steinway parts.
As of February 2024, it's for sale and it seems I have a buyer. Next few days should see the transaction happen and the instrument moved to its new owner, who is a piano technician also. He wants to take it to the next level of restoration. Update 10/2/24: The piano is sold! Piano artisan Mathias Mustillo has acquired my instrument, now his instrument.
Addendum:
Email from Steinway and Sons, New York, regarding their stance on the re-selling of Steinway pianos that have been refurbished / restored using non-genuine Steinway parts.
December 11, 2018
To whom it may concern,
As you may have heard, Steinway & Sons no longer licenses the use of its trademarks or logos (either past or present iterations thereof) to Decals Unlimited for the creation of decals for use on the soundboards and fallboards of Steinway pianos. There were many reasons for this decision, most notably the fact that these decals were being used on restored/rebuilt Steinway pianos that were being rebuilt without genuine Steinway soundboards or wrestplanks/pinblocks, and sometimes without a single genuine Steinway replacement part.
We have found that there is an enormous amount of misinformation on the differences between a genuine Steinway piano and an old Steinway rebuilt with non-Steinway parts on the web, in piano forums, and other places. This misinformation is often propagated by the very same rebuilders that are marketing and selling off the good name that Steinway has established for quality over the course of 165 years of building pianos. We cannot allow our company name (and reputation) to exist on a piano that looks brand new, but in many cases sounds nothing like a Steinway.
Effective immediately, it is no longer legally permissible to purchase Steinway decals for application on a Steinway piano through Decals Unlimited. In addition, Steinway has not authorized any other party to sell Steinway decals, and any such decals are considered counterfeit. Steinway will not be selling decals through our Parts Department or any other Steinway channel.
Furthermore, it is a violation of our trademark rights for someone to market or sell a restored/rebuilt piano as a “Steinway†piano unless: (A) the piano uses ONLY genuine Steinway replacement parts or (B) the non-Steinway replacement parts used are incidental to the function of the piano and any such non-Steinway parts used are specifically disclosed to the consumer. In either case, it must also be specifically and fully disclosed to the consumer that the piano has been rebuilt and by whom. Steinway & Sons takes its reputation and this matter very seriously, and will enforce our rights with respect to any pianos marketed or sold in violation of the above to the fullest extent of the law.
We are asking anyone who comes across a piano that they feel may be using counterfeit Steinway & Sons decals, or which is being marketed and sold as a “Steinway†piano in violation of our trademark rights to report the violation, including the piano and its location, by sending a message to violations@steinway.com. We have come across far too many purchasers of rebuilt Steinways that do not realize that the key components of that piano were not manufactured by Steinway & Sons, so we are taking these steps to better inform and protect the consumer. Thank you for your attention in this matter of great importance to our company.
Sincerely,
Todd Brecher
Acting General Counsel
Steinway Musical Instruments, Inc.
Steinway do not make their own strings or tuning pins. Strings are made for them by Röslau in the district of Wunsiedel in Bavaria, Germany.
On my piano above, No. 56873, I used some brand new oversize tuning pins purchased from Parke Piano Strings in Sydney to replace the ones that were not holding string tension. In addition, Lou Parke made me a brand new set of wire-wound bass monochord strings using Röslau cores to replace the old ones which were tubby and dull. He is a qualified and expert string maker and had the scale design of the Model A Style 1 on file (he also has scale designs for Style 2 and Style 3 - often just referred to as A1, A2, and A3), so was able to replicate the exact length and thickness of each string.
Style 1 was introduced in 1878, an 85 note instrument measuring 183cm. The scale design was crafted by C.F. Theodore Steinway. Style 1 had a Mk II version in 1892 being an 88 note version.
Style 2 began production in 1897. A short scale version was unveiled in 1905. Length was 188cm.
Style 3 was released in 1913, measuring 194cm. Yamaha's S4 is based on this design.
Production of the Model A Style 3 ceased in New York in 1945.
Then, in 2005, Steinway announced the return of the Model A, but chose as their design, Style 2 short scale, measuring 188cm.
Back to my piano: The dampers were all repairable and mostly just needed realignment with some reshaping and are original.
Whilst the hammer shanks were fine, the hammers themselves were in bad shape - squashed flat at the strike point and mostly out of alignment. I spent a great deal of time filing and reshaping these, as well as a full alignment and then setting the hammer height.
A regulation capped off the work in this area. The action feels good under the fingers, has good repetition and is responsive.
It has been illegal world-wide to use ivory for piano key tops since 1983. The original ivory ones (many were missing, the others completely worn / discoloured and not salvageable) have been replaced by modern plastic ones. The black key tops are original.
There are just two cabinet parts that are not original on this Steinway - the music rest and the slip rail, both made of wood. Both were fashioned by me from new wood, replacing the originals which were beyond repair. All screws for lid hinges and lid flap hinge were replaced with Zenith stainless steel Phillips-head self tappers. I would suggest these jobs would fall into the category of "incidental to the function of the piano" as per Steinway's text in the email above.
The cast iron frame, solid spruce sound-board, pin-block, roller repetition action, wire-wound bi-chords, wire-wound tri-chords and cabinet are all original. Plain-wire strings were replaced by Steinway approved Röslau strings some time in the past - perhaps some 70 years ago. Ideally, the piano could be re-strung again.
Final subject: the new paint! That's by Dulux.
I regard this piano as conforming to Steinway's wishes and standards and to be fully kosher.
Jobs for the near future: the jacks will need re-glueing in their guides (and regulated into correct position before glue sets), let-off button felt punchings replaced and regulated and repetition lever springs replaced and regulated. The back-rail felt should also be replaced. This should be done before any further action work or regulation is attempted.
- Tony Magee, February 5, 2024
No comments:
Post a Comment