Baby grand in a semi outdoor club

[bolehnggak]

Hi everyone! Greetings from Bandung, Indonesia.

I'm new to this forum, so this is my first post

I'm an amateur pianist, my main occupations are music producer, sound/mixing engineer, and a drummer.

I'm currently working on a project, which is providing sound system and music instruments in a restaurant which is going to provide jazz performance as well, so it's going to be restaurant/jazz club.

The owner is considering having a baby grand piano for that purpose.

The venue is located on the hills. The building is a semi outdoor venue, although it is not directly exposed to outside air. It has roofs and walls, but with a big opening on one wall across the stage.
Since we have no winter here, due to our tropical climate, the semi outdoor concept is very likely to be found here.

But still, obviously, there will be some up and down with temperatures.

My question is:
Is there any special treatment should I do with the baby grand to maintain its quality and durability?

Thanks for any answers,

Best regards,
Ari

[hfmadopter]

Unless temperature changes are really huge ones then that doesn't have as much impact on a piano as big long term swings in humidity. Environmental impact can be tough on a piano though. Dew , rain, mist, fog enveloping the instrument would be brutal on it. Not to say it shouldn't or couldn't be done, it's difficult to say without knowing the exact situation. I assume it would be fully indoors when not in use ? Of course moving it around has it's impact on tuning.

Have you/they considered a digital grand perhaps ? It would be easy to maintain and easy to rig into the sound system.

[bolehnggak]

Thanks for the answer

Everytime the restaurant opens, all the windows will be opened, unless there would be rain or some clients request the windows to be closed. But at closing time, all windows will be closed.

But there is a permanent opening across the main stage, which distance is 12 meters from the back of the stage.

I don't think we're going to use digital grand, the sound and the feel doesn't compare to a real acoustic piano. Besides, the grand piano would be a major highlight of the venue.

[bolehnggak]

Almost forget, the usual temperatures are from 21 degrees to 28 degrees Celcius.. Rare occasion would be 16 degrees, but usually when it occurs, all the windows would be closed.

If permitted, I can post you the picture of the venue.

[hfmadopter]

Almost forget, the usual temperatures are from 21 degrees to 28 degrees Celcius.. Rare occasion would be 16 degrees, but usually when it occurs, all the windows would be closed.

If permitted, I can post you the picture of the venue.

Photos are permitted here at Piano Street.

I'm sure that temp range is more than acceptable. I'm more thinking in terms of the elements ( humid, dry, maybe wet even) getting to the piano as stated above and if the piano is constantly subjected to that opening in the wall.. It sounds as though it's fairly well inside the opening though.

[bolehnggak]

Here's the picture of the restaurant, as you can see, at the right there's a loudspeaker, and although barely seen, a noticeable music stand. That's the proposed place for the grand piano.
This picture is an old one. On this picture, there's no windows, but now they already installed glass windows on the right side of the restaurant, which usually kept open on working hours.

The left side of the restaurant, which is across the stage, is left open...

The weather is humid, but constant humid, maybe 70-80 degrees, which is usual in a tropical climate places..

So, what do you think? 

[hfmadopter]

I think don't let it get rained on. I'd rather have my piano in 70-80 deg f and constant high humidity than in large changing humidity and temp as well. At least it should be able to be adjusted and stay that way in the climate you are describing.

I assume the windows you speak of are between the tables we see in the right foreground and the stage in the right background of the picture .

[bolehnggak]

Thanks for the reply

Yup the temperatures is more less 70-80 degrees F, and the humidity are usually around 70-80%, I forgot the scale, is it in mmHg?

No, it won't get rained on. And yes, on the first picture, the stage is at the right background, and the windows are installed, in between each poles, creating a wall on the center to the right side of the picture. I don't have the latest picture, but hope that you get the picture

This is a view from the stage, the angle is the opposite of the first picture. Well, it's not the latest picture. This opening is now had big glass window doors, which fit between each poles. They can be opened, and will be open during working hours.



Any suggestion for treatment? A humidifier, putting small light bulb inside the piano, or a heater, or maybe I shouldn't do anything with it?

Regards,
Ari

[hfmadopter]

Probably nothing, it would probably be fruitless to try and dehumidify the piano in the semi open state it will be in.

My ultimate suggestion for those conditions you don't care for, that would be the digital grand. No rusted strings, no swollen wood to worry about. But I'm sure there must be other acoustic grands living in similar conditions in your climate. In other words, no climate control.

[oxy60]

Just saw this thread and I don't want to discourage the idea of an acoustic grand but... it's not practical. You will need a tuner at least once a week.

Keep in mind that most of your audience won't hear the piano directly but over the sound system. So what is the difference? A keyboard with sampled sounds from a top grade grand amplified or amplifying a real grand? (Placing those microphones will be a real challenge.)

On some cruise ships they have shells of grand pianos where one can slide in a digital keyboard.

It's the 70-80% humidity that bothers me.

[hfmadopter]

Just saw this thread and I don't want to discourage the idea of an acoustic grand but... it's not practical. You will need a tuner at least once a week.

Keep in mind that most of your audience won't hear the piano directly but over the sound system. So what is the difference? A keyboard with sampled sounds from a top grade grand amplified or amplifying a real grand? (Placing those microphones will be a real challenge.)

On some cruise ships they have shells of grand pianos where one can slide in a digital keyboard.

It's the 70-80% humidity that bothers me.

Just a follow up on Oxy60's theme of his post, with a link to a page about the Piano Shell theory:  https://pianoshell.com/