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A visit to the
Steingraeber & Söhne
piano factory in Bayreuth, Germany

12.4.2006

 

[click on the thumbnails to see larger pictures]

 T he Steingraeber offices and showroom in Bayreuth (left) and an inner garden (right):

The factory building, located behind the showroom:

 

 

 M anufacture of the grand piano rim. This is how it starts, wood storage area, on the floor are the long pieces of laminated wood used to build the grand piano rims. Close-up (right): The two outer sheets have the fibre going lengthwise, the inner is perpendicular.

The rim presses. Rim press of the model 205, made of metal. The inner rim is glued and pressed first, then, after it dries, the outer rim is placed on top, separated with a sheet of paper, then glued (right). Because the inner rim is made from wood the same width as the outer, it is cut in several pieces for 2-3 pianos.

 

Rim press of the model 168. The core piece of the press is a single big block of laminated wood. The rim pressing procedure is similar to the 205.

Finished outer rims in storage.

Upright piano back assembly.

Assembly tables for the grand piano rims and beams.

Assembled rims concert grand 272 (left) and 205 (right).

 

 S oundboard & bridge construction. Soundboards for upright pianos (left). Ribs stored according to size, on top of the soundboard drying chamber (right).

Soundboard press for the smaller pianos with ribs stored on top (left). Close-up view (right).

Bridge press for the concert grand (left). The bridge is vertically laminated. Template for gluing the ribs on the concert grand soundboard (right, next to the blue press)

Soundboards and bridges of the upright pianos (left). The bridges are horizontally laminated, including the cap (right).

 

Soundboards and bridges of the 168 (left). The bridge root and cap are made of solid wood (right).

Soundboards and bridges of the 205 (left). The bridge root and cap are made of solid wood (right).

Grand piano leg and lyre parts.

 

 T he iron frame. Preparing the rim a 205 for the cast iron frame, which sits on wooden dowels.

Sanding the raw cast iron frame of the 205. The capo d'astro bar in the top treble section is connected to the plate (for more stiffness) and holes are drilled to allow the treble strings to pass under it. The second section has a normal capo d'astro.

Finished cast iron frame in the 168.

Mounting the finished cast iron frame in a concert grand 272. Inserting the perimeter bolts

Details of the 272 frame. The capo d'astro bar in the top treble section is connected to the plate (for more stiffness) and holes are drilled to allow the treble strings to pass under it.

 

 S tringing. The concert grand 272 strung but unpainted (left). Plate detail (right).

Upright pianos being strung (left) and awaiting case assembly (right)

Finished upright pianos model 138.

 

 G rand piano keyboard & action from one of the smaller models (left). Steingraeber files the hammer heads to a pointed pear shape (right)

Voicing and regulation of finished pianos (from left to right: models 168, 205, 272 Phoenix, 2x 138 uprights).

 

 T he new Phoenix concert grand 272 with bridge agraffes and adjustable vertical hitchpins. It is made on special order and is the first of its kind. Interesting to note that, compared to their "normal" concert grands with traditional bridge pins, this piano produces a sound very rich in upper partials and requires much softer hammers, due to the

The bridge agraffes and adjustable vertical hitch pins. The latter allow a very precise string downbearing adjustment by turning the hitchpin.

Detail views of the bridge agraffes and adjustable vertical hitch pins.

Interesting to note that, compared to their "normal" Steingraeber concert grands with traditional bridge pins, this piano produces a sound much richer in upper partials, thus requiring softer hammers. The greater sustain and volume is caused by the bridge agraffes, which provide a stiffer & heavier string termination and conserve the energy imparted by the hammer to the string more efficiently than a normal wood & bridge pin configuration, which is inherently somewhat more flexible (absorbing the high frequencies faster).

The bass bridge uses the normal bridge pins, perhaps to provide a better match of the bass to the plain wire sections. Bass strings tend to be brighter in sound and, depending on the scaling, they can stand out from the low plain wire notes.

The keyboard is covered in mammoth ivory! It has the same pleasant feel and good grip of elephant ivory keyboards.

 

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© Calin
Last update: 14.10.2006