Looking for some information on a Piano - Australian Eddyola

[hoffy]

Hi All,

This is my first post, so please be gentle! I am also in Australia, but regardless, my google search has pointed me here. With any luck someone may be able to help.

I have what I have seen described as a "Stencil" brand up right piano. The brand is an Eddyola, which I believe was the store brand of a piano retailer in Australia called "Eddy's". This piano was bought by my Grandparents for my mother more then likely in the 1940's.

OK, I have decided to try and get it up to working condition again if I can. I have pulled the covers off and found out that it is a Herrburger Brooks Schwander action. The sound board is brass/bronze, with the tuning pins attached to this. The frame, though, is completely timber.

The action seems to work reasonably well, with only 1 soft key, but it appears to be half a key flat (I.E., if I strike C4, I get G3 approximately. This is compared to a Yamaha electronic that I own). There is quite a few keys where the lifter (if that is the right word for it) has lost the felt, so when the key resets, there is an annoying click. Apart from that it seems to be mechanically sound and even playable (if you don't notice the half key difference), with only one key out of unison.

What I am now curious about is the actual origin of the piano. Is there any way I can find out where this would have been made? If I need parts, how accessible are they?

Thanks in advance!

Cheers

[Colin Nicholson]

Where abouts 'down under' are you? I sometimes visit my friend in Byron Bay, NSW - and he went to college with me (Leeds, UK) to train to become a tuner/technician - so if you are near there, I can give you his contact details. He's pretty good on pianos. My sister also lives in Alice Springs, NT.

I'm afraid, yes, your piano is stencilled, and to my knowledge, this name does not exist, so possibly the retailer's name Eddy! There is no way of telling you its origin, but a photo may reveal its approximate age.

The piano will probably be English, having a Herrburger Brooks action. These were the action & key makers, originally from London, then recently based in Long Eaton, Derbyshire, UK, but regrettably the company folded around 1999.

The brass/bronze area is not the soundboard. The tuning pins enter into the wrest plank (or pin block) - a laminated/ cross sectioned hard maple section of wood to take on the extreme force & downbearing of the strings & grip the tuning pins. If the cast iron frame is exposed (the tuning pins inside a window area) - then this gold colour is just a spray paint on wood to look like metal. If the cast iron frame completely covers the wrest plank, each hole for the tuning pins are drilled through the cast frame, then into the wrest plank. Whichever formation - the tuning pins are always driven into the wrest plank.

The wrest plank will be attached above the soundboard at the top, then about 1/4 of the way down, behind the strings, you will see a large expanse of wood - this is the soundboard, usually made from spruce. This is the part that resonates & amplifies the sound.

The back posts - at the back of the piano (usually behind a torn back cloth) are usually timber on all pianos - and this is where the soundboard is attached to/ screwed and possibly glued.

The 'lifter' may be the key capstans? At the back of each key, there may a length of thick wire, with a round wooden dowel screwed to it - the whole assembly is called the 'key capstan' - each wooden dowel may also have 4 holes drilled into it - from the side? - drilled at 12, 3, 6 and 9 o'clock The felt is usually glued to the top of the capstan - about 5 or 6mm in thickness, but sometimes this is reversed, and the undercarriage lever has a section of cloth/felt glued to it, and the dowel is rounded at the top, smoothened wood and usually painted black with liquid graphite (like liquid lead pencil material). If these come off, the key will not work properly, and produce a 'weak' feel to it. Have a look at the bottom of the piano, inside the pedal mechanism, sometimes they fall down the gap between the back of the keybed & strings. If not, they have to be made with a wadding/punch kit from a length of felt.

Contact a piano tuner for parts. Piano parts companies only usually deal with the 'trade' and not the general public. If you are in the outback!! give me a shout - I've been there, done it, and even killed cattle at Waite River and then mended pianos in 40 degrees of heat and red dust!!

Hope that helps for now......

[hoffy]

Thanks for the info! I am in Metropolitan Adelaide, South Australia. From what I know, Eddy's was a shop, so I believe that it would be the generic store brand

What I might do is post a few pictures later.

Now, just another question (Which I will follow up with pictures). The keys. They are a wood with a white material laminated on top. Not knowing the characteristics of Ivory, we were trying to work out whether the white material was plastic or ivory. Any ideas?

Cheers

[Colin Nicholson]

Ivory is normally in 2 sections per key, with a join in the middle, where the head (the part you play on) of the key meets the tail (the long section). Look where the tip of the black keys are, if you see a joining hairline, they will be ivory. Ivory is also translucent and has a grain to it.

If the key tops are one complete section of laminate (with no join), they will be either celluloid or plastic. Difficult to tell unless it is inspected closely, and a photo might help. Celluloid can also turn yellow like ivory - due to starvation of light.

If you look at the post regarding a Meztler piano, just below your post, the member has included some photos of their piano in a zip file - scroll down. If you open or save these, and click on "photo 7" (last one), these are ivory keys - note the join in the middle & see the grain, and some of the ivory heads are even a different colour to the tails. Unfortunately the chipped ivories will have to be replaced. Would have been beautiful to look at and play on in those days, but some kid has probably gone along with a spoon and smashed the ivory lips off - pity!!

[Bill Kibby]

If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, then one measure of the success of the Pianola is the degree of imitation of its name by other player piano makers, such as Pianella, Pleyela, Virtuolo and the many "ola" endings, including Artonola, Autoelectrola, Autonola, Carola, Claviola, Coinola, Concertrola, Desola, Dranola, Duola, Euphonola, Eastonola, Eddyola, Humanola, Indianola, Interola, Ninola, Phonola, Pistonola, Plaola, Playerola, Russola, Spin-O-La, Stradola, Theme-Ola, Triphonola, and Victorola!

I am mainly involved with antique pianos, so players are left to others more expert on the subject.

[Colin Nicholson]

Wonderful pearls of wisdom Bill, and I suspected it could be a "player", but I suspect the player until may be missing? since the member mentioned the key "lifters" - could be the pneumatics to lift the keys, but if the player unit was installed, surely you can't see the capstans (or easily anyway). Perhaps Hoffy could reveal the answer ! - is there a player unit in the piano? if not - its a piano.

[hoffy]

Sorry peoples! Even though its an "....ola", there is no pianola component to the instrument. Its simply a piano...

[Colin Nicholson]

Thought as much...... just like a peacock displaying all its feathers!!!!
I went on a 12 month course to learn about 'Player' actions - very valuable & intense - and stripped down various stacks, pneumatic valves & bellows, but not much call for it now - mainly done in USA now.
A 'Pianola' actually is a trade name, not a design of piano. I love them, but terribly over-engineered!

[Gill the Piano]

I've tuned 2 pianolas in the last week...unfortunately! Managed not to lose my wedges though - always a relief....