But before we go any further we must be sure we all know where and what is a soundboard and why it cracks. Even then, a cracked plate can be repaired, by the right person, using the right materials but of all piano repairs, repairing a cracked plate is by far the most risky, due to the enormous tension from the strings. If splits in the soundboard do produce certain rattling or vibrating sounds, it is enough to place a wedge in the crack, otherwise, one must send the piano to a factory or repair shop to have the sound board replaced or properly repaired. A crack is only going to get bigger and will affect the tone and overall sound of the instrument. What is a sound board how to check your piano sound board. The criteria as to whether it is necessary to repair the soundboard is whether there is a distortion in the sound of the piano at various frequencies. Crown, the slight upward arching of the soundboard is essential for good tone. Cracked soundboards piano tuning in edmonton daniels piano. In an upright piano, the sound board is a large vertical plate at the back of the instrument. Introduction to piano tuning removing action of upright piano removing action of grand piano removing action of spinet piano cle.
A cracked pinblock can be replaced, and a cracked soundboard can certainly be repaired or replaced. What is a sound board how to check your piano sound. Any piano with a little age on it will have a cracked soundboard, and any piano that is restored by any piano shop can have soundboard issues corrected and addressed properly. Graymarket pianos and cracked soundboards pianobuyer. I applied the epoxy from the bottom and let it cure. This can sound like a speaker distorting when it is played too loudly. On the back of it, it has one inch ribs which stabilize it by running against the grain of the sound board. If the crack is small and doesnt buzz, theres no need to fix it. Unless you hear strange noises, you might not need to repair a cracked soundboard. An average piano has 230 strings so thats a total force of around 12 a ton. I inherited the piano and want to keep it in good shape and fix up the major problems. Cosmetically, a crack isnt good, but functionally a crack in and of itself isnt really a problem. Jul 10, 2012 in this video i explain a little about soundboard cracks and their lack of impact on the performance of a piano.
Without it, a piano would sound about as loud as an electric guitar that is not turned on. This can allow the soundboard to rattle against the loose rib as it vibrates. Soundboard replacement is not a requirement for most pianos but if your piano is lacking tone and resonance in the high treble or anywhere else, it may be time to replace your soundboard. Years of vibration and climate changes can cause the soundboard s pieces to split at the seams. This can cause annoying buzzing noises and should be repaired. Cracks and rib separations are usually repaired at the same time the piano is restrung. How to fix a soundboard crack on a grand piano brigham. The characterization of piano soundboard materials with. All stringed instruments have some type of soundboard most are built directly into the body of the instrument, such as the violin or the harp. Antique and traditional piano soundboard and pinblock repair. So youve noticed the soundboard of your piano has a crack. For this reason, a crack in the soundboard reduces the soundboard s ability to amplify the vibrations of the strings only in relation to how much of the surface area the crack reduces the vibrating area of the board. Cracking in piano soundboards some piano owners have been dismayed to learn from their piano technician that their piano has a crack in the soundboard.
The soundboard in any piano is exposed to humidity and other environmental swings during its lifetime. These ribs help to distribute resonance and reinforce the board. In a grand piano, the sound board is part of the case. The soundboard is what allows the piano to project its sound.
It takes an experienced rebuilder to determine if a soundboard needs replacement. Brigham larson, registered piano technician, dispels the myth that. Soundboard cracks pianotech piano technicians guild. The piano strings pass over the bridges and are held in place at high tension between metal pins. A cracked soundboard doesnt necessarily affect the ability of the piano to make music, and so the piano may be acceptable as a donation. Repair cracked soundboard piano moving, tuning and repair.
He used a router to cut out the length of the crack before filling it in. While this may sound disconcerting, it does not automatically mean that the piano has to be rebuilt or replaced. Special attention goes into restoring the soundboard, if it be shimming and refinishing the original soundboard or replacing it with a new sitka spruce board. The reality is that nearly all heirloom instruments have cracks and separations in their soundboards they were designed this way so that the soundboards could move and adapt to changes in heat and humidity. Brigham larson, registered piano technician, dispels the. If splits in the sound board do produce certain rattling or vibrating sounds, it is enough to place a wedge in the crack, otherwise, one must send the piano to a factory or repair shop to have the sound board replaced or properly repaired. It is the large piece of wood below the piano strings that amplifies the volume of the sound emanating from the strings. After that they filled the cracks, and put the soundboard back to convex shape. Im not sure you can just glue it together, tho it is just wood, it should be completely wood, with no defects and sound. Many cracked soundboards can be easily repaired, but unless there are other problems with the board, these repairs are usually cosmetic.
Once you get to the point where strings need to be removed, the labor charges go up. Repair cracked soundboard piano moving, tuning and. It can be sealed to stop the buzzing, but to cosmetically repair, the strings must be removed and the crack must be shimmed and relacquered. When manufactured, the soundboard has built into it a curvature or crown. So, by extension, a new soundboard will likely sound at least as good as before, and, more likely, much better than the old dead board, by orders of magnitude. Open the lid of your upright or grand piano, and youll see a shiny, thin piece of wood beneath the iron plate that runs along the back or bottom of your instrument. The easiest way to put it is that a crack in a soundboard is a symptom, but not the disease. In fact many, if not most, pianos will eventually develop some cracking in their soundboards. I am asked often about soundboard cracks, and often by people that have heard its a death sentence for the piano, or that it means the piano cant be tuned. If the crack is small, but wide, it can be cleaned and a soundboard shim can be installed fairly simply. The sound board, depending on the instrument, is called a top plate, table, sound table, or belly. When an original soundboard needs restoration, we evaluate the board to ensure structural integrity, hand sand it and repair any damage utilizing our special methods. A pianos soundboard is one of the most important pieces on a piano.
Pianos in churches or concert halls that have the heat or air conditioning turned down or off during the week suffer the most from tuning stability. This can result in cracks and loose soundboard ribs. This type of repair, along with the cracks, are often done as part of a piano rebuilding or restoration project because it. When choosing whether to repair or replace your soundboard, its important to consider the level of damage. You also have to take into account that the results you have after replacing the soundboard might be dramatically different than the original piano. Solid spruce soundboards swell and shrink with seasonal changes in humidity and, over time, can develop cracks. Repairing or replacing a pianos soundboard bradfield piano.
One method for repairing cracks in a soundboard requires inserting a shim of wood into the cracked board. In order to obtain these very remarkable effects of amplification, the soundboard of the piano must be constructed with exquisite skill. One of the problems that comes up most frequently in buying a used piano is judging the significance of a cracked soundboard. A cracked soundboard the thin board stretched across the frame of a piano whose role is to amplify sound seems to be everyones greatest fear. Later on you will see it from the other side as well. When an object vibrates, it creates rapid variances in barometric pressure which we perceive as sound.
The good news is that this has nothing to do with the tuning. A piano will go through many changes as weather and seasonal changes bring in cold and warmth. Trefz has duplicated thousands of piano bridges, from spinets to concert grands. Piano parts duplication we specialize in creating custom replacement piano bridges, and pinblocks. However, when that string is attached to an 1800 sq. The soundboard is a large, thin wooden plate which acts as an amplifier of the sound produced by the vibrating strings its purpose is to radiate a large volume of sound over a wide frequency range. Unless you have repaired a cracked soundboard before, we recommend contacting a professional. Soundboard repair oxford piano service piano tuning. If the piano is of good quality and needs to be restrung or rebuilt its a negligible cost. There are certain things you should know about soundboards. The bridges function is primarily to transmit the sound of the strings to the soundboard, which is the amplifier. While soundboard cracks are obviously undesirable, and in some cases can cause serious problems. The soundboards function is to take and repeat the vibrational movements of the strings, creating air sound waves that are vastly greater than.
Sometimes, a piano can function normally even with a cracked soundboard. It should be remembered, however, that it is the strings, and not the soundboard, that originate, by their vibratory motions after they have been struck, the sound which the soundboard amplifies. The grain of the rib runs at right angles to the grain of the sounding board. Dec 21, 2012 as a piano ages, its soundboard dries out and often develops small cracks along the lines of the wood grain. Small cracks, especially cracks that form along the seams where the wood pieces are joined together, occur in most cases due to age. The heart and soul of your piano is its soundboard. Fire sucks moisture out of the airand your piano faster than you can say, my soundboard cracked. In extreme cases, cracked boards can produce a buzzing sound, but this can be corrected through repair. As mentioned earlier, they also have a lot of surface area, which does a lot of stretching and shrinking with changes in humidity. A new soundboard is custom tapered and fitted into the specific piano. If you own a piano that is due or even overdue for quality refinishing, repair or restoration of any kind, from abington to yantic, to lakeville to kent to sandy hook to monroe, your piano repair is as close as the entrance to your local interstate highway. Jul 12, 20 this is another great myth of the piano. Usually a piano with a soundboard that is dead from age is at least 50 to 60 years old or more.
Most people cant remember what a piano 60 years old sounded like when it was new. Having been stored in an arid location, theres a greater chance of other problems like the pinblock. There is a common belief that a cracked piano soundboard indicates that a piano. During restauration, they dried the piano down to 20 percent humidity, so that even some more cracks occured during that. Answered by a verified musical instrument appraiser we use cookies to give you the best possible experience on our website. Smaller cracks may not impact your pianos sound enough to warrant repair. However, in many cases cracked soundboards go unnoticed because it usually does not influence the sound. You can glue the board back onto a rib, if they have separated, but that is a much more entailed process. In the grand piano, the soundboard is placed horizontally facing up, and thus. When manufactured, the soundboard has built into it a curvature orcrown. Make sure its not cracked and that the ribs, pins, and bridges inside arent cracked or broken. Four or fivepieces of wood are glued together to form the soundboard, which isattached to the back bracing of the piano. Piano restoration costs piano restoration pricing guide 2019.
An epoxy repair without pulling the string frame is pointless. If the sound got affected when the sound board was cracked, then how and in what way it would. It all depends see our article on the subject here. Jul 25, 2012 ultimately the whole sound board should be taken out and replaced. If you want to v out the crack and insert a shim, then you have to get access to it by removing the strings andor plate. A vibrating string displaces very little air about. The last time i did this during restringing, i placed electrical tape on the surface of the board on the crack and flipped the piano upside down. Some piano makers curve the ribs to support the crown within the sound board. I took it home and fixed the crack, and now i have a nice mahogany guitar that i picked up for a song. Do cracks in a pianos soundboard mean the end of its life. All who heard the piano gave kind comments on the sound, so it worked. Cracks in a piano soundboard are common and often are not sufficient reason to replace a soundboard. This is very common in older pianos and sometimes causes buzzing on specific notes. We can custom duplicate treble and bass bridges, uppernuts, pinblocks, damper guide rails, and wood action rails.
Bridges transfer the vibration of the piano strings to the sound board, which amplifies the sound. Repair of rib separations can usually be done at reasonable cost without rebuilding the piano. Some piano owners have been dismayed to learn from their piano technician that their piano has a crack in the soundboard. Piano technician bryce mckay recently fixed a crack in the soundboard of a grand piano we are restoring. An heirloom instrument with a cracked or separated soundboard is not ruined, it is not worthless. The fact of the matter is that pianos are sensitive. Lastly, as the board vibrates it is constantly pushing and pulling against the rim or band of the piano. Piano restoration rebuilding refinishing repair connecticut ct. When purchasing a piano check as much of the soundboard as you can see carefully for cracks. Also, the top was refinished answered by a verified musical instrument appraiser. Clients often tell us that their local piano tuner says their piano has a cracked soundboard and is ruined and worthless. Would sound get affected because of cracked sound board.
This is an example of a significant crack in the soundboard of a small baby grand piano. A piano with a cracked soundboard should be carefully checked for rib separations before purchase. The fact of the matter is that pianos are sensitive to changes in the climate and in the room conditions. He maintains that a piano is simply untunable if a cracked sound board exists, while i posit that it is possible to tune a piano with a cracked sound board. This interferes with the resonance of string vibrations and causes poor tone and a thin sound. Do upright pianos have a brass sound board answers. It is also one of the main reasons that a cracked soundboard will buzz when played at certain frequencies. Well, many long years ago i was tuning an old uprightaa vose, if memory serves and i guess it really wasnat so old back thenaand for some reason i had.
A quick and simple test is to finger pluck your highest octave and listen if the tone projects through the entire piano and more importantly the. Nearly all soundboards will crack at some point over the life of the piano. Cracks in the sound board are common in older pianos and can cause buzzing, loss of volume, and poor sustain. The sound board is a five eighths inch thick wooden board in the back of the piano. Greeb, the proper repair for the soundboard crack, if warranted, is a spruce shim. The only time cracks in a piano s soundboard could pose a problem is when the cracking causes the soundboard ribs to separate from the soundboard itself. Soundboard cracks demystified south jersey piano service. In a grand piano, crawl underneath and look up to see it, but make sure the piano s legs look sturdy before you do so. What makes piano sound like a steinway, or a baldwin, or a bluthner. For a grand that can be thousands, upright hundreds.
Cracks can be repaired, retaining the original soundboard. Piano soundboard restoration is an exacting and timed honed process. For this reason, a crack in the soundboard reduces the soundboards ability to amplify the vibrations of the strings only in relation to how much of the surface area the crack reduces the vibrating area of the board. There is a crack in my piano s sound board, caused, i believe, by being stored in an arid place. Brigham larson, registered piano technician, dispels the myth that a broken soundboard always means a piano is no longer playable. Other piano makers followed suit with many different conceptual designs. Usually, cracks in a pianos soundboard does not mean the end of its life. A cracked harp plate is an important issue, but in most cases can be remedied by new technologies in welding and mending. Whether you have a grand piano or an upright piano, fixing cracks is one of the most common soundboard repairs. This whole internet thing is all just an inane cycle of grifts. Cracks in the soundboard are common in older pianos and can cause buzzing, loss of volume, and poor sustain. Feb 07, 2012 in the early 1900s, steinway and sons introduced their diaphramatic sound boarda board that stands at around 58. The fact of the matter is that pianos are sensitive to changes in the climate and. Welcome to estey piano piano rebuilding services piano.
In europe if you replace the soundboard on a piano you are legally not allowed to put the name of the original manufacturer on the instrument. Piano restoration oxford piano service piano tuning. This is usually the result of changes in the relative humidity that has caused the pieces of wood making up the assembly to expand and contract. Like the top of a stradivarius violin, the soundboard is the wood beneath all the strings and plate of the piano which gives it its unique quality of sound.
They can provide insight on how to best preserve your pianos sound and give pricing for a soundboard repair or replacement. Donating, converting, or recycling your piano pianobuyer. Perhaps it looks less like a smooth, machined piece of. Piano sound board repairing cracks the sound board is a five eighths inch thick wooden board in the back of the piano. The erroneous idea that a crack in a soundboard reduces the tonal output is undoubtedly due to the equally erroneous theory that sound vibrations in some way travel transversely across the soundboard. Sometimes when the soundboard gets cracks in it, the ribs come unglued from it in places. The piano s action is the mechanism that causes the felt hammers to strike the strings when you play a key. Jan 17, 2016 the spruce planks of a sound board are glued together and then held in place by wood strips called ribs. How costly is it to fixed a cracked sound board in a piano.
Check for thin hairline cracks along the grain of the soundboard, and examine each area where a crack crosses under one of the supporting ribs which run across the grain. Cracked soundboard repair tutorial acoustic and hollowbody. If you crack open the lid of either your grand or upright piano and look down, you will see a shiny piece of wood behind the iron plate that runs the entire area of the bottom or back of the instrument. I bother to give the model number of the guitar so you can look them up online. As long as the edges of the crack do not make a rattling sound by vibrating, it really isnt that problematic. Piano tuning and repair course index piano technician academy.
Soundboards vary in size depending on how large the piano is. The craft introduction to course piano styles, parts and history abcs of piano design actions upright, spinet, grand lesson 2. Cracked soundboards are actually quite common, especially in this climate. If there is a distinct buzz when notes are struck quite firmly, this can also be an indication of a cracked soundboard. If you open up the lid of either your upright or grand piano and look down, you will see a shiny piece of wood that runs the down the back or the bottom of the instrument. Overall the simple goal of this aspect of the research work will be to provide quantitative data that can show how a change in sound board material will result in a change in the overall tone of an instrument with.