case construction of modern pianos

richarddale · Post by **richarddale** » 02 Mar 2004, 21:40

would it be true to say that (the cases of) all modern uprights are made of veneered chipboard rather than solid wood panels or can it vary by cost, cheap pianos up to &5000 chipbored, expensive pianos - wood?

when did they start making uprights out of chipboard anyway

Post by **Barrie Heaton** » 02 Mar 2004, 22:39

They have been using chipboard on uprights ever since it came out but it took off in the 50s - 60s. Today most manufactures use MDF (Medium Density Fiber Board) with a formica veneer and then the wood veneer. The Formica forms a water barrier so the polyester spray is not sinking into the MDF it makes for a very stable case, Yamaha UK for one use that method.

Now some of the more expensive makes use laminated block board grands are different S&S use laminated rock maple for the rim, which is very hard

Barrie

richarddale · Post by **richarddale** » 03 Mar 2004, 01:08

i got a small sample of the laminate used by Kemble on their K131, a slither of veneer covering thick chipbored, considering the piano is 6 grand
I think thats a pretty poor show
what about those mAnufacturers that charge 10 grand for an upright yet its still made of chipboared which must be the cheapest form of "wood" available

Post by **Barrie Heaton** » 03 Mar 2004, 19:37

The best wood to use would be a very hard wood but that would make uprights just as expensive as grands – if you uses a soft wood the cost would go up as well - to get boards wide enough you would have to butt joint quite a few then they would have to be quarter sawn and seasoned – You then have the problem of loss of sound, soft wood on the case would absorb quite a bit of the sound as sound travels slower in soft woods than hard woods, so it would lose some energy. Now MDF is very dense compared to soft woods so sound travels faster so most of the sound that is absorbed by the case parts is passed out to the player.

It all comes down to the costs and the environment Steinways have spent a lot of money or R&D on the best type of wood to use on case parts maple is the best but they only use it on the rim of their grands because of the cost

Barrie,

richarddale · Post by **richarddale** » 03 Mar 2004, 20:53

I still can't believe that even a hardwood case as you describe would be more than say &1200 manufacturing cost, since it would be machined rather than hand made, which on a piano that would say retail at 10-14,000 is not a lot
the case of an upright must be a lot easier to make than a grand