My article "Pianos Without Pinblocks," originally published in the Piano Technicians Journal in August 2023, has gained significant traction. It was republished in two parts in the Spring and Fall 2024 issues of Europiano magazine, the Journal of European Pianomaker Associations. This publication, printed in five languages, reaches thousands of members in the piano trades across 18 European nations, and several Asian and African countries (via the International Association of Piano Builders and Technicians (IAPBT).
Exciting news continues as the Japan Piano Technicians Association, with its 2,000 members in 10 chapters spanning the country, has requested to republish the series. Additionally, a student at the European Technological Institute for Music Professions in France-the only school in Europe training students in tuning, repair, and manufacturing of pianos-chose to build a pinblock-free piano for her term project, inspired by my work. I'm thrilled to be assisting her in this endeavor.
Interest is also brewing stateside. A U.S. piano builder has expressed curiosity, and I've had engaging discussions with Michael Spreeman, owner of Ravenscroft Pianos, about the concept. Another colleague, a piano rebuilder, plans to experiment with the various technologies uncovered by my research. The growing attention suggests that piano makers may soon prototype and market-test this design. I believe the time is ripe for this idea to take hold once more.
On a related note, an article in the latest Piano Technicians Journal, "Tuning Mechanics," employs intricate diagrams and sophisticated mathematical formulas that support my primary argument: tuning pins in pinblocks twist, tilt, and bend during tuning, leading strings to significantly overshoot the target pitch, which complicates achieving accurate and reliable tunings. I contend that doing these experiments on a piano without a pinblock would greatly simplify the mathematics, potentially reducing it to a single, elegant equation: a = a.
Larry Lobel, RPT
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Larry Lobel RPT
San Francisco chapter
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