History Archives - South Jersey Piano

The Differences Between Grand And Upright Pianos

June 3, 2022June 3, 2022 by Andrew LarzelereNo Comments

The Differences Between Grand And Upright Pianos A Brief History of the Piano The first piano was created by an Italian named Bartolomeo Cristofori around 1700. His intention was to make an instrument with a more dynamic tone than the harpsichord, which does not allow musicians to have much control over the volume of the notes they are playing. It was originally called a pianoforte, because in Italian the terms “piano” and “forte” mean “soft” and “loud”, respectively. Cristofori did this by changing the mechanism that causes the strings to vibrate. Whereas a harpsichord uses a plectrum to pluck its strings, Cristofori designed a system that uses a hammer that is pushed toward the string at first and then allowed to travel the rest of the way on its own momentum. This made the piano more responsive to the touch of the musician, since playing a note harder would result in a louder sound, and vice versa. Modern pianos, though they have evolved over...

Aluminum-wound strings

May 27, 2017October 6, 2017 by SJ Piano ServiceNo Comments

Those extra shiny strings are aluminum-wound, somewhat of a novelty in the late 1960's when this piano was built. Though these have held up well, aluminum-wound strings as a rule have never caught on and are all but extinct now. In this case, the aluminum winding was seen as a "transition" from the copper-wound bass strings to the plain wire treble strings. Manufacturers have tried dozens of different ways of bridging this transition point over the years, with varying results. Gordon Laughead was a small, family-run, Michigan-based piano manufacturer that operated from the 1940's until the 1970's. They made good quality pianos, and this particular one was a testament to that fact. Unfortunately, like hundreds of other piano manufacturers, they eventually succumbed to an over-crowded market. ...

Mezzo-thermoneal stabilizers (Or: Marketing Gimmicks)

March 31, 2017April 6, 2017 by SJ Piano ServiceNo Comments

What's a "mezzo-thermoneal stabilizer" you ask? That's a great question. In the post-WW2 era, when the piano market was really taking off in America, manufacturers started coming up with all kinds of new patented techniques to make their pianos stand out from the competition. Or, at the very least, to make them sound special. "Mezzo-thermoneal stabilizers" are a great example. No one really knows what it means, but it sure sounds cool. Almost like your piano was designed by NASA! Most of these kinds of labels, unfortunately, are little more than marketing gimmicks. This particular piano is a 1979 Kimball Console. It's actually a good little piano, but the mezzo-thermoneal stabilization probably has nothing to do with it! ...

Hyundai makes pianos too?

March 21, 2017April 1, 2017 by SJ Piano ServiceNo Comments

They're probably better known for cars than pianos (and rightly so), but my car and this piano have the same roots! Hyundai was a huge conglomerate in South Korea that broke apart in 2003. Hyundai Motor continues to make and ship cars all over the world, but Hyundai Music, a division of Hyundai Development Company, continues to manufacturer and distribute pianos all over the world! Like many large companies, Hyundai's pianos are manufactured under a variety of brand names. On this particular piano, the "Aeolian" name was used and this Hyundai logo was visible only on the plate. On some other models, the Hyundai name may not appear at all. ...

Piano decals – is my piano really that old?

June 14, 2016November 30, 2016 by SJ Piano Service Comment Closed

Piano manufacturers often use decals from prestigious competitions and events for decades afterward. Piano owners sometimes assume these decorations are indicative of the age of the piano, but they're not. Sometimes they may even be from a prize that was won more than a century earlier! This decal was on a 1961 Baldwin L grand piano. It's a well-made instrument, but it's not at all the same instrument that won a grand prize at the 1900 Paris Grand Prix! Still, if I had won a grand prize at the Paris Grand Prix I would probably put it on everything I owned too... ...

Interlochen Piano

June 3, 2016November 30, 2016 by SJ Piano Service Comment Closed

It's common for piano manufacturers to form marketing partnerships with arts organizations. This emblem on a 1965 Wurlitzer today was a new one for me in this area. ...

Old serial numbers & other markings

May 31, 2016November 30, 2016 by SJ Piano Comment Closed

This serial number on an old Jacob Bros. upright traces to 1907! Serial numbers are sometimes hard to find, but typically on American uprights and grands they can be found in a plate cutout like this, somewhere in the tuning pin area. Even more interesting here are the dates etched into the plate above the serial number. In days gone by technicians would often write or etch the date of each service call. Hopefully 1930 was not the last time this piano was tuned! ...

Plastic parts – not as bad as you might think

May 13, 2016November 30, 2016 by SJ Piano Comment Closed

If you tell people their piano has plastic parts, most don't think of that as a good thing. When plastics first became mainstream in manufacturing in the 20th century, they were used in all kinds of ways they should not have been and have a bad track record for durability. Early plastics became brittle very quickly and had poor shelf life. However, in recent years a number of piano manufacturers have developed advanced polymers that are used for specific action components and are actually more durable than wood. They are also far less susceptible to seasonal temperature and humidity swings, helping the piano's regulation remain stable longer. This picture is of a "plastic" repetition jack in a Yamaha upright that's just a couple years old. For decades this part would have been made out of wood. It is a quality part though and no cause for concern! You'll notice other parts are still made of wood and metal; it all depends on...

Stencil pianos – what are you actually getting?

May 10, 2016November 30, 2016 by SJ Piano Comment Closed

This is a great example of what is known as a "stencil" piano. The name "Brahms" appears on the front of the piano, but in fact the plate (visible in the background) is stamped with Winter & Company, the actual manufacturer of the piano. I couldn't find any background information on this particular customer's piano, but it was very common in the mid-1900's for piano stores, dealers, and others to have a run of pianos manufactured by an established company with the dealer's name stamped on the front. Winter & Co. was one of the larger piano manufacturers in the 1940's, when this piano was built, and had arrangements like this with dozens of companies over the years. If you own a piano with a name on the front that is unfamiliar and hard to find any information on, one possible explanation is that it's a stencil. They are not necessarily inferior pianos; it just depends, of course, on the company that...

Steinway M Grand Piano

April 2, 2016December 31, 2016 by SJ Piano Comment Closed

1969 Steinway & Sons model M (5'7") Henry Steinway, a German immigrant, founded the Steinway company in 1853. It quickly became one of the leading piano manufacturers, and for the past century Steinway pianos have been the instrument of choice for a majority of performing artists. All Steinway instruments are still manufactured by hand in one of two factories: New York City (supplying North and South America) and Hamburg, Germany (supplying the rest of the world). ...