Basic question about piano and WOOD

[bumstah]

Hello everyone,

Today I went to the piano shop and just scoped around the beautiful pianos that were around me.  Then I noticed something that doesn't come up much into topic, and I couldn't get it out of my mind and now I'm really itching to ask  .  Why are the case (the legs, exterior frame, etc.) of most pianos still primarily made of wood? Well the obvious answer may be because for the acoustic, but isn't the majority of the sound amplified inside the soundboard and the frame? The legs and the exterior is chosen primarily for sturdiness, right?

Well, that brings me to ask, why chose wood? I see alot of pianos that have metallic exterior or even glass (which Lady Gaga plays sometimes in her concerts), but I don't generally see them available to the public.  A vast majority to this day are still made of wood.  Is there a special part wood plays in for the exterior design of a piano? I know it is mandatory in most pianos for the inside of a piano because of its qualities, but wouldn't it better if the outside was made of some metal or even glass?

It might be cool if pianos were made of recycled metal and cheaper than wooden parts, plus that means we need to worry about humidity less.

I'm not an expert in pianos very much and any insights/comments or answer to my burning question would be greatly appreciated!!

[bumstah]

I thought my original thread was a little confusing so I thought I'll basically sum it up:

1) Why are the exteriors of acoustic pianos still primarily made of wood?
2) Why are those cool looking metallic, glass pianos not available to the general public?

[richard black]

Basically, wood is a very practical material for that kind of job - strong enough, easy enough to work, long-lasting, not too expensive, not too heavy. Lots of other materials could be used and sometimes are (e.g. acrylic) but they don't necessarily offer any real advantages beyond funky looks, and most people like the look of wood. After all, most domestic furniture still features wood very heavily.

Acrylic pianos certainly are available to buy but they aren't in every showroom because there just isn't much demand for them.

[birba]

just one question.  who is "lady gaga"?!

[birba]

don't bother.  went into youtube.

[bumstah]

Thanks richard, yeah I guess if there is no real reason to change it, why change it at all?  And at briba, sorry Lady Gaga used a piano made of Lucite, not glass, after I did some research. 

[etap1]

Actually, the clear looking 'acrylic' pianos are Plexi-glass about 2.5 times the density of a bent rim hard-rock maple laminated rim piano.

The role of the rim is to actually be the 'foundation' of the soundboard and to reflect tone.  If you imagine a typical drum,  the drum head is what goes up and down vibrating while held in place by the drum shell.  The shell needs to be made of a hard enough material that will not start to move/rack with the attendant stresses caused by the excursion of the head.

Same with the piano.   When soundboard goes up and down vibrating, the rim should stay still and solid and avoid movement which would then absorb energy of the Soundboard and diminish tone.

The plexi pianos of exact same size and scale are almost always considerably larger in tone and fuller due to the more inert material.  However, it also costs double usually what a traditional wood piano would cost..............

Use of metal would generally result in more expense and as Richard said, more difficulty to manufacture appropriately.   Metal also has a propensity to vibrate and create a tone of some volume where the more solid wood structures do not have a tendency to produce an ambient sound of much volume.

[richard black]

Plexiglass is just a trade name for acrylic (technically polymethyl methacrylate) and its density is about 30% higher than that of wood. Its stiffness is in the same ballpark as wood too.

[lhorwinkle]

Why are those cool looking metallic, glass pianos not available to the general public?

Not available because very, very few would sell. Few people want exotic-looking pianos. And non-wood pianos aren't very practical. The tone of a piano comes partly from the wood. What does a glass piano sound like? What does a metal piano sound like?