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Wertheim Technical Information |
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The piano was invented around 1709 in Italy by Bartolomeo Christofori. Its design was based on the instrument of the day, the harpsichord. The harpsichord, having no sensitivity to touch, tone or volume, led Christofori to devise a hammer action to give both soft and loud sounds depending on the touch of the player, hence the name Pianoforte - this means 'soft' and 'loud' in Italian. The piano underwent many refinements over many years to become what it is today.
The Soundboard
The soundboard is the speaker of the piano. It is generally made of Spruce, the best being Alaskan Sitka Spruce. The soundboard can be a solid sheet or laminated. Laminated soundboards have thin sheets layered at 90 degree angles that are glued under pressure.
Lower quality instruments have laminated soundboards. The sound production is fundamentally flawed by a laminated soundboard. Sound travels 3-4 times faster along the grain than it does across the grain. Sound in a laminated soundboard is smeared in all directions, resulting in a thinner, shorter sounding note particularly noticeable in the middle and treble range. The sound of a piano with a laminated soundboard will not improve with age as does a solid soundboard.
Wertheim Pianos feature solid Alaskan Sitka Spruce soundboards.
The size of the piano (height in an upright, length in a grand) has a direct relationship to the volume and tone that the soundboard can produce. The bigger the soundboard, the bigger the sound. A 9ft concert grand has remarkable volume and tonal output. The soundboard has ribs and these ribs keep the soundboard rigit in a slight curve or 'crown' to give you the ultimate tone and sustain.
Iron Frame
The frame serves 3 purposes.
- Strength against the collapse of 25 tons of pressure from the strings.
- Keeping the tuning pins in place over the life of the piano (possibly 100 years).
- Setting the scale or intonation of the strings.
The Bridge
The bridge transfers the vibrations of the strings to the soundboard. The bridge is made of hardwood such as Beech. The bridge is attached to the soundboard running along the soundboard in an S shape. Older pianos can have split bridges creating false harmonics, rattles and other sounds. A split bridge can be very expensive to repair.
The Strings
Wertheim strings are made from German high grade steel with the bass strings covered in up to 2 wound layers of copper wire. Each note of a piano can be made up of three strings all tuned to the same pitch for the upper and middle register. The bass notes comprise of one string for lower bass and two strings for the upper bass.
When tuned to standard pitch A440, the tension results in up to 25-ton of string tension. This pressure is supported by the iron frame.
There are two ways strings are strung on a piano:
- Vertical strung (older pianos).
- Over or cross strung (bass string crossig over treble strings and vice versa).
Over strung pianos offer a longer string length given the actual height of the piano. The longer the string, the greater its ability of tone production transferred to the soundboard.
Back Posts
The posts situated at the back of the piano compliment the structural integrity of the iron frame. Wertheim 121cm and 131cm upright pianos have 5 back posts. Modern manufacturing techniques in the casting of an iron frame and designs that extend the perimeter of the piano mean that the back posts are not required in smaller 110cm pianos.
Pin Block
The pin block is made of laminated hard woods. This provides a secure and waterproof material for the tuning pins to be locked into while remaining loose enough for the pins to be rotated for tuning. Wertheim pianos are constructed using hardwood laminations for maximum tuning stability.
The Action
The piano is a percussion instrument because the strings are struck with a hammer. The mechanism that accomplishes this task is known as the 'action'.
The action is the sophisticated mechanism that transfers the energy in the touch of the pianist pressing the keys to the string via a system of levers and a hammer. The action of a grand piano has its hammers balanced to gravity, those of an upright piano have tabs and springs to pull the hammer back. This fact enables the grand to achieve a superior performance particularly when repetition is concerned.
The regulating and maintenance of the action is critical to the performance standards a piano is capable of. Wertheim Pianos receive careful tuning, regulation and voicing to provide the ultimate satisfaction.
The Dampers
The dampers control the ability of a string to vibrate. It is controlled in two ways:
- By the action: when a key is pressed, the damper releases.
- When the damper pedal is pressed.
There are two types of dampers. Over damper (an older design) and under damper (modern design). The over damper is not effective at damping the string because the damper sits close to the end of the string above the hammer resulting in a lot of ringing and overtones. This is particularly noticeable when playing staccato music. All Wertheim pianos encompass the under damper design.
All these features are important for you to understand in the purchase of a Wertheim piano so that you cna make a wise, well-informed decision. You should compare the different models of Wertheim pianos of different heights by playing octave arpeggios in the ky of C in both the bass register and treble, noting the sound quality, depth and volume of each. |
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Last Updated ( Saturday, 17 May 2008 )
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