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My listening room is going to be invaded by a 6 foot +500lb...

When a key, or the sustain pedal is not depressed, the strings are damped. Quite well actually if you hear a pian play. thy lay one note you get one note. If the push the pedal a bunch of them sing.

You are not going to have alot of problems out of the strings, however the cabinet itself might have some resonances. You might have to deal with that, or not. It might not be all that bad. You know that piano resonance - it has the WIDEST frequency range of all instruments, as far as I know. That means the stereo might actually sound BETTER !

OH, and most definitely screw around. Take the stereo to a high level and press on the right pedal on the piano. Let is rock a minute and then just CUT the stereo all the sudden. Almost like an echo chamber.

Have fun with it and if it colors your sound cover it with quilts and blamkets or whatever. and a GRAND piano does play differently than an upright. If you got a budding Beethoven there, it might be worth the difference.

But rock and roll will never die :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CxXl4oS9wss

^that is possibly the best piece of rock and roll ver made
 
A piano doesn't have extraordinary weight requirements for a modern or not so modern home. Even a grand piano. 3 points of contact on a radius of 3' (guessing) is much the same as 3 adult males in the same position (guessing about 200lbs each.)

Sh*t, when I sneeze I can hear the mask in the old CRT tv vibrate if I'm in the same room.
 
It is nice to have piano in the family room, something in baby grand size. But for music lessons (more so at less than pro level), I suggest digital piano instead. Modern ones have key feel and sound almost like real one. Yamaha or Roland in $3-4K range is what I suggest. It will also save you a significant money for required regular tuning of this thing. My wife plays as hobby, now kid is taking lessons. Both use Roland we bought 8 years ago. Back then it was top of the line model. Now you can get better one. Big advantage is when kid is excercising in headphones and does not disturb anyone else in house.
 
Andyman said:
Will it fit? Seriously.

Pianos are big and heavy. I moved a spinet once,and that was enough. whoever designed those carrying handles on the back must have died laughing.

A grand is a whole, 'nuther can of worms. Sometimes windows need to be removed and a lot of corners can't be turned.

I'd have somebody check out the move before you commit.

How to move a Grand Piano
Click to expand...

That was my first concern- I've spent 3 weeks with builders, contractors, piano geeks and taken more measurements than God has green grass. It's technically a "small" grand piano' but with over hangs etc it takes up about 6'. The bell end will go out into the bay window, and the keyboard will sit at a 45 degree angle to my sitting position. We do loose the sofa, which means I finally get a proper listening chair. If you look at the pic in my signature the bell goes where the green chair is and the keyboard is in a plane from the yellow chair to the edge of that computer screen. The pic is distorted, but it works. The bench goes where the end of the sofa is and I'd be in the same spot I listen in now. That fishtank and console have been moved.

We have several guys (and 2 movers) to help us, the link you posted is excellent, this is the one I had been told to use to prepare.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4DrEem4cWqY
This piano is on the cusp of what one company calls a small grand and another calls a large baby grand. The floor previously supported a 300gal saltwater tank with 2 55 gallon sand filters- everybody seems to think the weight will be fine.

In order to get it in we do have to remove the railings on the porch outside of the kitchen... and may replace the porch at the same time. But that needs to be done anyway.

This isn't like a spinnet- at all. it's moved with planes and levers and rollers (there is no way to lift it without a piano board). My real concern was being able to listen to recordings without it ringing, but now that I think of it every studio I've ever been in has had a piano in the room where my amp was blaring away. *doh*

I'm excited, but not as much as my son- on the other hand he plays piano, brass and a little guitar. I play guitar and chopsticks.
 
for_p1 said:
It is nice to have piano in the family room, something in baby grand size. But for music lessons (more so at less than pro level), I suggest digital piano instead. Modern ones have key feel and sound almost like real one. Yamaha or Roland in $3-4K range is what I suggest. It will also save you a significant money for required regular tuning of this thing. My wife plays as hobby, now kid is taking lessons. Both use Roland we bought 8 years ago. Back then it was top of the line model. Now you can get better one. Big advantage is when kid is excercising in headphones and does not disturb anyone else in house.
Click to expand...

We have keyboards, and had (for a short while) a good weighted action Roland. It just didn't click with him. Just like the midi drum set didn't click with my daughter. It's not that their luddites, and I think they would tell you for hours how tech savvy they are... but when push comes to shove...

well, I guess we're just loud.

But that begs another question- where now does the mixer go? The midi keyboards, drums, compressors, yeesh. It'll work. Maybe I'll even get rid of some stuff. And heaven help us all if my daughter decides it's only fair if she gets a trap set in the living room.

But your point about regular tunings is not lost on me... and a tuning IS NOT some kid from guitar barn with peterson strobe and wrench.
 
JURB said:
When a key, or the sustain pedal is not depressed, the strings are damped. Quite well actually if you hear a pian play. thy lay one note you get one note. If the push the pedal a bunch of them sing.

You are not going to have alot of problems out of the strings, however the cabinet itself might have some resonances. You might have to deal with that, or not. It might not be all that bad. You know that piano resonance - it has the WIDEST frequency range of all instruments, as far as I know. That means the stereo might actually sound BETTER !

OH, and most definitely screw around. Take the stereo to a high level and press on the right pedal on the piano. Let is rock a minute and then just CUT the stereo all the sudden. Almost like an echo chamber.

Have fun with it and if it colors your sound cover it with quilts and blamkets or whatever. and a GRAND piano does play differently than an upright. If you got a budding Beethoven there, it might be worth the difference.

But rock and roll will never die :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CxXl4oS9wss

^that is possibly the best piece of rock and roll ver made
Click to expand...

I never thought of using a piano as an echo chamber... and if you open the hammers with no impact (or just wait) you have a tune-able sympathetic harp... oh good googly moogly.
 
jblnut said:
My main listening room is shared with a Yamaha C-7 (7 foot) grand piano. There are several local AK members that can tell you the room sounds very good and that the piano isn't doing any sonic harm. People tend to overthink things in this hobby, sometimes to an extreme. The strings are damped when it's not being played and the piano is no different than anything else in a room with speakers - everything will vibrate and resonate with the music. Does it matter ? I can tell you I don't lose any sleep over it.

The bottom line is that it takes up a lot of floor space. The real challenge is figuring out where to place it so you can still sit and listen to your stereo without the piano being between you and the speakers.

PM me if you have any more questions about it. Just make sure your "free" piano is really worth something. You may be better off getting a digital piano and piping it through your system (thereby using your hi-fi hobby to further the sonic quality of piano reproduction :-). Truth be told some of my digital keyboards sound *awesome* through my system with some reverb and delay effects. It sounds like I'm playing the piano in a giant hall and not my living room. Food for thought....

jblnut
Click to expand...

Good gravy how big is your room? Seven feet is big. We've been using midi and digital pianos through stereos for years (I almost never use an amp at home anymore, I plugged a vAmp (Line 6 POD clone) into the amp and almost never bother with anything else. But the kids never react to the same way they do to acoustic instruments. It's weird, the kids are unplugged and dad is the one that uses the gadgets.

In my daughters (when she was very young) "but you can't HUG it".
 
g..v said:
A piano doesn't have extraordinary weight requirements for a modern or not so modern home. Even a grand piano. 3 points of contact on a radius of 3' (guessing) is much the same as 3 adult males in the same position (guessing about 200lbs each.)

Sh*t, when I sneeze I can hear the mask in the old CRT tv vibrate if I'm in the same room.
Click to expand...

quote of the day
 
jblnut said:
My main listening room is shared with a Yamaha C-7 (7 foot) grand piano. There are several local AK members that can tell you the room sounds very good and that the piano isn't doing any sonic harm. People tend to overthink things in this hobby, sometimes to an extreme. The strings are damped when it's not being played and the piano is no different than anything else in a room with speakers - everything will vibrate and resonate with the music. Does it matter ? I can tell you I don't lose any sleep over it.
Click to expand...

Agree.

Here's an experiment you can do: Open up a piano and pluck a string as hard as you can. You will probably won't hear much and it will have no sustain at all. At most indoor listening levels I doubt resonance will be able to energize the strings anywhere CLOSE to as much as plucking them. The hammers do a pretty good job of damping the strings.
 
If any way possible, you must make this happen.

There is no substitute for a real piano and the interest of a child that wants to play it. If successful, this will be one of the proudest and happiest achievements for both father and son...for a lifetime.
 
If I read you right, you're going to put the piano out into the bay window ? Sunlight and pianos are a no-no. Besides the sun fading the woodwork, the heat from the sun will play havoc with your tuning as the wood expands and contracts. If you must do this, get some good blinds or drapes. Tuning costs, and you don't want to be doing it monthly.

My room isn't huge - maybe 11x17 - but I've made the most of the layout.

jblnut
 
jblnut said:
If I read you right, you're going to put the piano out into the bay window ? Sunlight and pianos are a no-no. Besides the sun fading the woodwork, the heat from the sun will play havoc with your tuning as the wood expands and contracts. If you must do this, get some good blinds or drapes. Tuning costs, and you don't want to be doing it monthly.

My room isn't huge - maybe 11x17 - but I've made the most of the layout.

jblnut
Click to expand...

Do have pics of your listening space in one of the threads? I'd love some ideas.

The window faces east, and has a HUGE red maple outside it. It receives about 35 minutes of direct sun immediately after sunrise and has wooden Venetian blinds. However the heat vent in the bay will have to be kept closed.

What is the cost for a proper tuning in your area... I'm hearing everything from $50 to $2k. One of the retiring tuners wants to teach me to do it- which is nice, but like the rest of this process, rather intimidating.

The big tuning bugaboo in my house is winter- it was really, really hard to keep the guitars humidified this year.
 
A grand piano is a beautiful instrument and usually a gorgeous piece of furniture. I'd love to have one. I had an UPRIGHT grand many years ago, but gave it away. Now I have a Currier (defunct manufacturer out of Boston) standard upright. I have the sound board up against a a piece of furniture and that dampens the sound as I don't like it too loud.

When the keys are not depressed or the sustain pedal is not depressed, there is a damper on the strings by default to keep them from resonating. This is mandatory or you'd have too much reverb and sustained string resonation when playing it. The strings just can't keep resonating freely from the time you strike them with a hammer or there would be no control at all. Every time you release a key (and the sustain pedal is not depressed - right pedal), a string damper touches the string to stop the resonation. If you can have a grand piano in a full orchestra or rock band with mics under the soundboard and you have no problem with collateral resonation of the strings, then you won't have any in your home no matter how loud you play your stereo.

So NO WORRIES. They are not going to resonate free willy. Just take that piano and ENJOY! I sure would. Nice gift.
 
Firstly, congrats-I wish I had a grand when I was a kid. If you had a 300gal fish tank, that's about 2100lbs in probably a much smaller area, so no worries. It took a minute for someone who knows how a piano works to chime in. If the piano is resonating in a static state then something is very wrong with the dampers, also no worries. I have a 140 year old Steinway B in my living room that I got about 9 years ago. I tweaked the mechanics then and just restrung it. Hopefully the free piano is worth while, they can suck more money out of you the a '65 Jag E Type if you get the wrong one. Agreed to watch the direct sunlight, and outside walls if you're insulation is sketchy. Tuning is simple in theory, but not easy to do well. Stretch tuning is an art, and you do need ears. Basic tuning probably should be in the $75-125 range depending on where you are. Good luck, and enjoy!
 
j free said:
Firstly, congrats-I wish I had a grand when I was a kid. If you had a 300gal fish tank, that's about 2100lbs in probably a much smaller area, so no worries. It took a minute for someone who knows how a piano works to chime in. If the piano is resonating in a static state then something is very wrong with the dampers, also no worries. I have a 140 year old Steinway B in my living room that I got about 9 years ago. I tweaked the mechanics then and just restrung it. Hopefully the free piano is worth while, they can suck more money out of you the a '65 Jag E Type if you get the wrong one. Agreed to watch the direct sunlight, and outside walls if you're insulation is sketchy. Tuning is simple in theory, but not easy to do well. Stretch tuning is an art, and you do need ears. Basic tuning probably should be in the $75-125 range depending on where you are. Good luck, and enjoy!
Click to expand...

I had 2 E-types... now I'm scarred.:D
 
One of my fav cars ever, thankfully they've gotten pricey enough that they're out of the running for me. ;)

Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Tapatalk
 
oneinchside said:
Do have pics of your listening space in one of the threads? I'd love some ideas.

The window faces east, and has a HUGE red maple outside it. It receives about 35 minutes of direct sun immediately after sunrise and has wooden Venetian blinds. However the heat vent in the bay will have to be kept closed.

What is the cost for a proper tuning in your area... I'm hearing everything from $50 to $2k. One of the retiring tuners wants to teach me to do it- which is nice, but like the rest of this process, rather intimidating.

The big tuning bugaboo in my house is winter- it was really, really hard to keep the guitars humidified this year.
Click to expand...

I'm sorry I don't have any pics of room up on this site. But basically I have a couch dividing the room in half. The piano's long straight side is behind the couch up against it. It makes getting to the piano bench a bit tough as there isn't a ton of room around the piano. But I had to do it this way to get enough distance from the couch to the stereo on the other end of the room.

Tuning is a hundred bucks here from a guy I trust and I have a central humidification system attached to the furnace. That's a necessity in these parts when the winter comes.

Jblnut
 
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