WEather changing my Steinway L?

[run4it]

After 20 years of owning a Steinway k52 upright, I bought a 1956 Steinway L this summer. I bought it from a dealer and it was newly rebuilt and refinished. I feel that the sound of it has changed a lot since I bought it.  It has been tuned twice since then.  My old Steinway was pretty consistant sounding throughout the year, but I'm thinking this piano will not be the same.  I've never owned a grand.  Can anyone give me an idea of what to expect as I go through the seasons, and if there is anything I can do about it (if it IS weather related changes I'm experiencing)?  I live in western Washington.  I don't know the amount of humidity in my house, but I am keeping the temp at 66-69 degrees.  How do I even know if it is the weather, or perhaps my technician being different from the one at the dealership?

[daniloperusina]

The "wheather" changes you talk about cause a few things to happen. The soundboard is bowed like the lid on a violin. With airmoisture increasing, the soundboard swells, the 'bow' increases.
The strings are connected to the soundboard via a bridge. The bridge slightly rises, increasing the string tension, causing the pitch to raise, changing the angle at which the end of the strings continue to the hookup pins.

With low moisture (winter), the opposite happens. The bow (actually called the crown) flattens, bridge sinks, angle decreases. In a worst-case scenario, the soundboard looses the crown altogether (becomes flat), and this angle from the bridge to the pins becomes too small, causing the string to rest uneasily on the bridge and can cause problems with the tone-production. A flat soundboard will not sound good either.

The same happened to your K52 of course. But differencies in construction will cause difference in effect.

I would be natural for a piano to sound slightly different winter vs summer, but not unpleasantly so, of course.

Steinway is unique. There are more opinions about them than any other brand, because they have the reputation to be 'the best'. Still today the New York factory is to a great extent the same as in the 1890's. The greater part of each instrument is hand made. The rim, eg, is bent by hand, so every rim is slightly different, then each soundboard is customized for fit etc etc. No two instruments end up sounding the same.

All in all, expect your L to have a 'personality' different from any other. But if you are somewhat unhappy with how it sounds and feels, talk to your technician (assuming that he is independent from the shop) and let him thouroughly examine it. If there is something dodgy about the restoration for example, he should be able to see that.

Ask him about the "damp-chaser system". It's a climate control system fitted onto the piano, which makes sure there's a constant 45% moisture in the soundboard.

[quantum]

You could by an inexpensive thermometer and humidistat.  I have one beside my piano, it also records the lowest and highest measurements. 

[pianodoc]

You've got a "new" instrument breaking in as well...

Depending on the type of work, it isn't unusual to go through a year or more of instability unrelated to humidity issues.  Not only the tuning, but the tone and action may change. 

Getting a hygrometer is a good first step - the digital ones are pretty cheap and stable.  It gives you a chance to see how the room humidity shifts from day to day and night to day.

You may want to voice your concerns to your technician

[richard black]

Don't forget your ears are still getting used to the sound of the new piano, and it's terribly hard to be sure whether the changes are really in the sound or in your perception of it.

[run4it]

Thank you for all the helpful suggestions. I actually have one of those indoor "weather stations" on my Christmas wish list  - one that shows indoor humidity, so that I can start associating humidity changes with what I'm hearing.  Part of my problem is I'm uncertain how to verbalize what I'm hearing.  To me, it doesn't sound as "warm" as it did when I got it.  Is that a sound that is too be expected in winter?  It sounds harsher.  Is it possible that different technicians' work produces different sounds out of a piano and that what I might be hearing is the result of my technician's work being different from the technician's who prepped it while it was in the showroom?  In the past couple days I've also had the g below middle c start "sticking".  By that, I mean that it is not coming back up at the same speed as before.  I can see this visually and so it is rather disturbing.  Is this related to weather too?

[daniloperusina]

You keep referring to your own techician. Did he actually do anything apart from tuning it?
You say it was newly rebuilt. What did they do?

[tosca1]

Dear run4it,
It does seem that your piano is suffering from humidity problems. The sticking note is a classic sign of excessive humidity and of course tuning stability is affected by humidity swings. The loss of sweetness of sound could be caused by the soundboard movement and its effect on tuning which daniloperusina explained fully. I believe too that grand pianos are "higher" performance instruments than vertical pianos and any deterioration in either sound or touch becomes more obvious to our fingers and ears.

I would get a hydrometer to measure the relative humidity in the room where you have your piano. You may need to invest in some humidity control equipment.  It is certainly a worthwhile investment to protect your beautiful piano.

Best of luck,

Robert.

[pianodoc]

So many variables!!!

Yes, tuning by different techs will change the 'character' of your piano.  You are right that there is very limited vocabulary for discussing tone and sound.... it's one of our toughest challenges when dealing with a piano owner.

In addition, change in the humidity has an effect on all parts that can absorb or lose water - wood, felt, leather. 

The resiliency of the hammers changes as they dry out and then absorb water.  Usually this means that the piano will be more 'strident' (bright, loud...) when it is dry in the house and more mellow (muffled, dark...) during times of higher humidity.

Likewise, all the felt and wood parts in the keys and action can change dimensions by a little - that could be causing your key sticking problem.