On a piano, what's a soundboard?

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sjaguar13

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I'm currently taking voice lessons, and practice with a 1981 Casio keyboard. It's sounds like crap. I found a baby grand piano for sale, but it has a cracked soundboard. How serious is it? Can those be fixed, and is it really expensive to fix it? I plan on taking piano lessons soon, and I kinda wanted to use something other than the Casio for those. The piano is cheap.
 
Yo Cat with Big teeth:

The soundboard of a piano is in essence the very heart of the piano.

Someone once told me that the great Steinway pianos had a very special sound board. The wood for the soundboard was grown in some mountain type forest in Europe and that wood, when treated, was the reason the Steinways had their fabulous sound.


I would guess that replacing the soundboard on the piano you mention would not be cheap. I'm not sure as I've never owned a regular piano.

It might be better to buy an 88 key electronic stage piano. I have one in my studio -- it's always in tune and I use it for folks who like the 88 rather than the shorter keyed synth.


But, it might be worthwhile to fix your piano too if you dig it.




Green Hornet :D :cool: :cool:
 
Never seen the piano, yet. I'm going Saturday. I just talked to the person on the phone and she said the soundboard is cracked. She didn't want to spend too much money, so she played it the way it is. Is that going to make it sound bad?
 
Id give it a pass myself. It would probably be more expensive to fix than its worth, and yes it will effect the sound. Modern electronic stage pianos are better than cheap real pianos..

Get a general music or a kruzwiel and your good.
 
She only wants $30 or so for the piano. I figured it would be better than the keyboard and is a whole lot cheaper. Junk baby grands on eBay go for $200.
 
That puts us in an entirely differant ballgame.. Go for it, and ask Lt. Bob what can be done to repair
 
Is there anything I should be looking for when I go to look at it Saturday, like where the crack is?
 
The soundboard is the big piece of wood that the steel 'harp' is attached to. It will be on the bottom of the piano body and run the entire width and length. It is what vibrates and amplifies the sound of the strings similar to how the back piece of an acoustic guitar body functions.

At the very least a $30 baby grand would make a nice piece of furniture and might impress the chicks. Do you know what brand or model it is?
 
sjaguar13 said:
Is there anything I should be looking for when I go to look at it Saturday, like where the crack is?

Yeah, like will it fit in the truck.
 
In other words, for 30 bucks, I would buy it, rip the guts out, and put my geneneral music real piano pro in it. You cant go wrong at that price
 
She wants $30 for a baby grand?

Does it have any keys left?

Seriously, this isn't likely to be a piano. It's likely to be firewood. I'd be tempted to buy it anyway, because for $30 you can get a real fast tutorial in just how complicated this "most complicated of any machine ever made" can be. It would be a hoot if you had a place to keep it, rip into it and learn about the action and so forth. A cracked soundboard is likely to be the least thing you would have to worry about.

For instance, you could try to tune it. Then you would learn why a tuning wrench is called a "tuning hammer," and why the reason it won't stay in tune might have something to do with that big crack you see on the pinblock with all the hardened epoxy goop coming out of it - the one the piano technician will charge $20 to tell you can't be fixed. (Hint: he's being kind). Are you still sure you want to do this? :D

Most cracked soundboards still sound as OK as the rest of the instrument will allow. Usually everything else has gone to hell so the soundboard is pretty low on the priority list. The bracing is crossgrain so even a cracked board isn't likely to go anywhere. To look at it, you get on your back underneath the thing and look up. The "floor" on the other side of the frame is the soundboard. The cast iron harp (or frame) on which the strings are mounted is bolted to the case, and the soundboard will be immediately under the harp. The strings break on bridges mounted directly to the soundboard, as on a guitar.

Be VERY careful moving this thing, as you can get badly hurt.

The legs come off. You can flip it on the bass side and move it on a dolly. Or two. Or onto a board sitting on a dolly, then rope or strap the thing together.

You can actually tip it over without doing any harm. FIRST YOU TAKE THE TOP OFF (meaning remove the hinge pins and physically take the lid and the sliding music desk into the other room) and then you lift on the treble side and keep going until it is completely on its side. Look at the legs for individual markings, as they are not interchangeable. There will be cams clamping them in and iron castings holding everything together. Watch out for cracked or broken castings, as the thing can let go when you try to put it back upright, and all of a sudden you can be the one holding up that particular portion of 600 pounds. That's not where you want to be. So don't try it alone.

Don't move it in a pickup truck, or you'll have to build a frame to keep it upright, like I did, and you will probably run into a thunderstorm, like I did. Just don't use a pickup truck. Get a panel van and rope or strap the sucker tight to one side of it.

It's a big operation, and you can sometimes find a mover to do it. Then you see that they actually earn every penny they charge.

Or, if you want a piano to play, maybe the thing to do is move to a decent used electric for now.
 
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One key is chipped, and the soundboard is cracked. That's the only thing wrong with the piano. Her husband died and it was his piano. She wants it out of the house. Her step son plays the organ and is the music director at some church. He can tune the piano once its moved. Supposedly, it can be played the way it is. I was looking at them on eBay and crappy ones go for $200. I was wondering if the soundboard could be fixed for like $200, and then I would have a $500 piano for $230.
 
some good advice so far.

but the easiest solution is to pay a local pro piano tech to look at the instrument. some cracked soundboards can be relatively benign, whereas others will cause the piano to buzz like a bumblebee. anyway, a good piano tech will tell you exactly what will be needed to be done to make it playable, as there are MANY other issues to consider besides the soundboard... the pinblock, the strings, the hammer felts, the action, the pedals, etc.

replacing the soundboard will be very expensive, but it might not be necessary.

if the total costs of making the piano playable end up being many thousands of dollars, you might be better off with something like the Yamaha S90 for about $1900. It's the best sounding digital piano in terms of sound and feel that I've ever played, and it also has hundreds of other amazing sounds, as well as all kinds of rhythm loops that make practicing really fun. in addition, you will never have to pay for tunings, you can bring it to gigs, and it doesn't take up much space.
 
So if it buzzes, that means it sucks and I shouldn't buy it because it will be way too much to fix?
 
no, you completely missed the point:

HIRE A PIANO TECHNICIAN TO INSPECT THE PIANO!

Yeah, it may cost you $50-$75, which seems dumb if you are only spending $30 on a piano, but you will have to do it eventually, either before or after you spend the money or hassle to move it into your house. Might as well find out if it's worth the trouble ahead of time, even if the piano was free!

a piano tech can tell you, for instance, that the piano might need $1000 worth of work, but if you make that investment the piano will be worth $5000. Or that you could spend $1000 and the piano would still be worth only $500. Wouldn't you want to know that information?
 
regardless, 30 bucks is a good deal, even if it buzzes a bit. I wouldnt insult them by having it inspected before you buy it...They are practically giving it to you, dont look a gift horse in the mouth. After you get it home, and tuned, then play it. If it sounds good, just play it...If it buzzes have it looked at. If it isnt worth fixing, ebay it for a profit.
 
Bdgr said:
regardless, 30 bucks is a good deal, even if it buzzes a bit. I wouldnt insult them by having it inspected before you buy it...They are practically giving it to you, dont look a gift horse in the mouth. After you get it home, and tuned, then play it. If it sounds good, just play it...If it buzzes have it looked at. If it isnt worth fixing, ebay it for a profit.

Nonsense. A useless piano is like a dead elephant - you'll get a hernia moving it, and it takes up a huge amount of space in your house. They could be paying YOU $30 to take it, and it would still be worth having a professional inspection to make sure you aren't ending up with something much worse than your Casio.

It's no insult. If you were buying a house, no matter how good the deal you still should hire a lawyer. If you buy a used car no matter how good the deal you should have it checked by a mechanic. Same with a piano. No one would be insulted unless they are fools.

The issue isn't if it buzzes a bit. It's if it is even worth the hassle of moving. Even if it was "easy" to sell a worthless piano weighing 500 pounds on e-bay (which I doubt) I'd rather save myself the hassle up front.

This is starting to resemble one of those "home mastering" threads. I guess some people are just ethically opposed to getting help from an expert, no matter how much sense it makes.
 
A piano tech is a good idea. Maybe get a tech who moves the damn things so you don't end up losing a finger or something.

I'm not kidding - it's a pretty hairy thing to move one of these things if you've never been there when a tech does it. For starters, you CANNOT move it more than a few feet with the legs on! So you're into the whole dismantling thing before you even get it out of the house.

If this really is a gift, it is a significant one! I've learned that there is no such thing as a cheap piano. They are usually things that once were pianos and now are trouble. If this is in good working order - and a technician is the only one who can tell you that - be appreciative to this lady!!
 
If you call a tech, make sure it's one that you can trust. Otherwise, he may tell you that it's a hunk of junk and then go back and buy it himself.
 
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