Pianotech

I've been curious about this for a while, so I thought I'd ask. The old player pianos, while impressive mechanical devices, never sound like a real person playing and they can never seem to get a well voiced/shaped phrase. Perhaps I'm wrong, but it seems players pianos were never really designed for the professional musician (this may seem obvious since professional musicians wouldn't need a machine to reproduce what they can do on their own). My question: did companies sacrifice the overall quality of components in player pianos? For example, was a Steinway, Chickering or Knabe player piano built to the same standards as their non-player counterparts?  

I've been curious about this for a while, so I thought I'd ask. The old player pianos, while impressive mechanical devices, never sound like a real person playing and they can never seem to get a well voiced/shaped phrase. Perhaps I'm wrong, but it seems players pianos were never really designed for the professional musician (this may seem obvious since professional musicians wouldn't need a machine to reproduce what they can do on their own). My question: did companies sacrifice the overall quality of components in player pianos? For example, was a Steinway, Chickering or Knabe player piano built to the same standards as their non-player counterparts?  

I've been curious about this for a while, so I thought I'd ask. The old player pianos, while impressive mechanical devices, never sound like a real person playing and they can never seem to get a well voiced/shaped phrase. Perhaps I'm wrong, but it seems players pianos were never really designed for the professional musician (this may seem obvious since professional musicians wouldn't need a machine to reproduce what they can do on their own). My question: did companies sacrifice the overall quality of components in player pianos? For example, was a Steinway, Chickering or Knabe player piano built to the same standards as their non-player counterparts?  

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Tim Foster
New Oxford PA
(470) 231-6074
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The 16 levels of dynamics in the old player pianos certainly can't come close to the 256 steps in, say, a Yamaha Disklavier reproducing piano. But when the piano and player system are in good maintenance they can still be very amazing. There's an old Mason & Hamlin Duo-Art piano at the Nethercutt Museum, in Sunland, CA. that sits on the landing between the 2nd and 3rd floors that plays Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue during tours, both parts performed by Gershwin, and it's quite a treat. Kyle Erwin, who maintains all the musical instruments at the Nethercutt keeps, it in extraordinary condition.

Also, not that you would necessarily want to follow this path, the advantage of a pneumatic player system is that there are almost no parts that cannot still be found or duplicated. They could conceivably be kept alive for the life of the piano. In modern digital reproducing pianos, once the electronics die you're left with a non-reproducing piano. 

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Geoff Sykes, RPT
Los Angeles CA

Original Message:
Sent: 05-09-2023 14:05
From: Tim Foster
Subject: Player piano quality

I've been curious about this for a while, so I thought I'd ask. The old player pianos, while impressive mechanical devices, never sound like a real person playing and they can never seem to get a well voiced/shaped phrase. Perhaps I'm wrong, but it seems players pianos were never really designed for the professional musician (this may seem obvious since professional musicians wouldn't need a machine to reproduce what they can do on their own). My question: did companies sacrifice the overall quality of components in player pianos? For example, was a Steinway, Chickering or Knabe player piano built to the same standards as their non-player counterparts?  

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Tim Foster
New Oxford PA
(470) 231-6074
------------------------------

A well rebuilt and maintained M & H BB  ampico B is hard to beat!

The 16 levels of dynamics in the old player pianos certainly can't come close to the 256 steps in, say, a Yamaha Disklavier reproducing piano. But when the piano and player system are in good maintenance they can still be very amazing. There's an old Mason & Hamlin Duo-Art piano at the Nethercutt Museum, in Sunland, CA. that sits on the landing between the 2nd and 3rd floors that plays Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue during tours, both parts performed by Gershwin, and it's quite a treat. Kyle Erwin, who maintains all the musical instruments at the Nethercutt keeps, it in extraordinary condition.

Also, not that you would necessarily want to follow this path, the advantage of a pneumatic player system is that there are almost no parts that cannot still be found or duplicated. They could conceivably be kept alive for the life of the piano. In modern digital reproducing pianos, once the electronics die you're left with a non-reproducing piano. 

------------------------------
Geoff Sykes, RPT
Los Angeles CA

Original Message:
Sent: 05-09-2023 14:05
From: Tim Foster
Subject: Player piano quality

I've been curious about this for a while, so I thought I'd ask. The old player pianos, while impressive mechanical devices, never sound like a real person playing and they can never seem to get a well voiced/shaped phrase. Perhaps I'm wrong, but it seems players pianos were never really designed for the professional musician (this may seem obvious since professional musicians wouldn't need a machine to reproduce what they can do on their own). My question: did companies sacrifice the overall quality of components in player pianos? For example, was a Steinway, Chickering or Knabe player piano built to the same standards as their non-player counterparts?  

------------------------------
Tim Foster
New Oxford PA
(470) 231-6074
------------------------------

I've been curious about this for a while, so I thought I'd ask. The old player pianos, while impressive mechanical devices, never sound like a real person playing and they can never seem to get a well voiced/shaped phrase. Perhaps I'm wrong, but it seems players pianos were never really designed for the professional musician (this may seem obvious since professional musicians wouldn't need a machine to reproduce what they can do on their own). My question: did companies sacrifice the overall quality of components in player pianos? For example, was a Steinway, Chickering or Knabe player piano built to the same standards as their non-player counterparts?  

------------------------------
Tim Foster
New Oxford PA
(470) 231-6074
------------------------------

"My question: did companies sacrifice the overall quality of components in player pianos"

If you're asking about the piano part of the player pianos, my observation has been no, they did not. To me, it seems the vast majority of the old player pianos were about the same quality of the same company's non-player pianos. Maybe there are exceptions but it's hard to tell, considering the samples we have are a century old.

If you're talking about the player components as opposed to the piano components, I don't think so either. My belief is that they probably used the best materials and techniques they had available at the time, at least in the majority of cases. The players would have been sold at a premium, so it wouldn't make sense to cut corners. Again, with everything being a century old, it's hard to tell for certain.

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Benjamin Sanchez, RPT
Piano Technician / Artisan
(256) 947-9999
www.professional-piano-services.com

Original Message:
Sent: 05-09-2023 14:05
From: Tim Foster
Subject: Player piano quality

I've been curious about this for a while, so I thought I'd ask. The old player pianos, while impressive mechanical devices, never sound like a real person playing and they can never seem to get a well voiced/shaped phrase. Perhaps I'm wrong, but it seems players pianos were never really designed for the professional musician (this may seem obvious since professional musicians wouldn't need a machine to reproduce what they can do on their own). My question: did companies sacrifice the overall quality of components in player pianos? For example, was a Steinway, Chickering or Knabe player piano built to the same standards as their non-player counterparts?  

------------------------------
Tim Foster
New Oxford PA
(470) 231-6074
------------------------------