Correct Humidity for Steinway "B"

[Aart in America Piano Company]

Hi List, 

I hope you are all well.

I have a customer who called requesting a tuning for a newly acquired Steinway B in his recording studio and I inquired as to the humidity in the studio. ( We're in the NYC area and it was a humid summer )

He stated that the piano was kept at the correct humidity as per Steinway's website, 45 to 70% and sure enough the website states this range.

I was taught that the correct humidity for a piano was between 38 and 42%, also, I believe this is what Dampp Chaser recommends.

Am I missing something here? Can this be correct? Or, is this the maximum tolerance the piano can stand however not the optimal range.

Your input would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Aart

 

Aart in America Piano Company

Hoboken, New Jersey

www.aartinamericapiano.com

201-406-2594

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[Douglas Gregg]

That sounds like about the usual range of humidity on Long Island
where Steinway makes their pianos with occasional excursions to 90%.
It probably means that the soundboard will probably not crack in that
range. The tuning will likely get wild. Put a Damp Chaser in it.

Doug Gregg
Southold, Long Island, NY

[Aart in America Piano Company]

Thanks Doug, That's about what I thought.

We're in Hoboken NJ right across the river from Manhattan.

The humidity was around 60 to 70 most of the Summer. I did an outdoor tuning right on the river in July, that was fun!

Much appreciated.

Aart Markenstein

[Joseph Garrett]

Aart,

It has been my experience that the "range" should be between 40% and 60%. However, that is not really a workable criteria imo. The real criteria is CONSISTENCY! I've seen pianos that were in an environment in the 60%+ range and were fine because it was constant. Likewise on the other end of the spectrum..in the 30% range. I don't like to see those kinds of numbers IF they are the maximum/minimum on the same piano. Chasing pitch is not fun, even if you "float" it. I really think there is a maximum/minimum to pitch as well. Since Steinway has this B.S. attitude about Dampp-Chasers and says that if you own a Steinway you MOST CERTAINLY can afford to maintain the whole damned house properly in that regard. Just like some of the B.S. of Rolls Royce: "The Rolls Royce does not break down, it just ceases to function temporarily." Yeah, right! Sheesh!

Sorry for the rant, but some of the snobbish stuff that manufacturers spout really honks me off.<G

Oh well, have a good'n.

Joe

-----Original Message-----
From: Aart in America Piano Company
Sent: Oct 22, 2013 4:32 PM
To: pian...@googlegroups.com
Subject: [pianotech] Correct Humidity for Steinway "B"

Captain of the Tool Police
Squares R I
gpianoworks.com

[Douglas Gregg]

Aart Markenstein

I did an outdoor tuning right on the river in July, that was fun!

Aart,
I know exactly what you are talking about, I did one outside under a
tent on a bluff above the Atlantic in the Hamptons on the east end of
Long Island for an afternoon practice and then an evening concert. The
temperature dropped about 20 degrees and the fog rolled in off the
ocean. I had to wipe the dew off the bench. Nice.
Doug Gregg

[Ron Nossaman]

On 10/22/2013 6:32 PM, Aart in America Piano Company wrote:
> Hi List,
>
> I hope you are all well.
>
> I have a customer who called requesting a tuning for a newly acquired
> Steinway B in his recording studio and I inquired as to the humidity
> in the studio. ( We're in the NYC area and it was a humid summer ) He
> stated that the piano was kept at the correct humidity as per
> Steinway's website, 45 to 70% and sure enough the website states this
> range. I was taught that the correct humidity for a piano was between
> 38 and 42%, also, I believe this is what Dampp Chaser recommends.
>
> Am I missing something here? Can this be correct? Or, is this the
> maximum tolerance the piano can stand however not the optimal range.

Looks to me like the local range where the piano is built. It has
nothing to do with either maximum or optimal. It's just another
unqualified proclamation echoing down from the mountain, to keep the
believers warm.

You know from experience the ranges a piano is happy in. Go with what
you know.
Ron N

[Aart in America Piano Company]

LOL, Thanks Joe. How true. I think Dampp Chaser is an excellent product and in a recording studio environment essential.

I was just a little taken back by the wide range of numbers on the S&S site.  

Again Thanks for your advice and have a great night.

Aart

[Aart in America Piano Company]

That must have been great. A little challenging but the Hudson or Atlantic are always a beautiful place to work.

All the best Doug.

[Don]

Hi Aart,

The "old" literature from Steinway recommends 50% plus or minus 2.5%

 

Regards,
Don Rose, B.Mus., A.M.U.S., A.MUS., R.P.T.
Non calor sed umor est qui nobis incommodat
mailto:pian...@yahoo.com http://www.donrose.ca/
Box 37181, Regina, SK S4S 7K4
306-539-0716

[Aart in America Piano Company]

I know Ron, Thanks.

The Studio Owner took S&S web as Gospel. I just wanted to make sure that I wasn't missing something.

I'll make that "B" happy.

Aart

[Ron Nossaman]

On 10/22/2013 8:49 PM, Don wrote:

> The "old" literature from Steinway recommends 50% plus or minus 2.5%

Much more realistic and makes a lot more sense, at least if the piano
stays in the neighborhood. New Mexico and Arizona residents need to be
buying Ravenscroft anyway.

<G>
Ron N

[Aart in America Piano Company]

Thanks Don, Your and the other Technicians input and advice is very much appreciated.

Warmest Regards to All.

Aart

[lcl...@yahoo.com]

My experience is that Steinways, in particular, are prone to soundboard collapse due to being exposed to wide humidity swings. (I suspect that this is due to CC soundboards, as Ron has often mentioned.) Once collapsed, they sound like very large cigar boxes stretched with rubber bands. We have a perfect case in point here, where the University initially scoffed at putting climate-control into the new Music Building, to protect the 1.5 Million$ it spent on Sways! And in just a few years, they were all "duds".( IMHO. Though much has been done to improve them, since.) And the brand-new "D" donated to the Civic Center (by an extremely classy lady!) was even allowed to be stored in a room with a leaking roof!!! Though no water got under it, much sat under it, and when a movie-composer-who-shall-remain-nameless later played it at the Film Festival, I went "YUCK!" (Another tech called it a "dog", and the local symphony conducter said "We use it as little as possible." 42% is the best humidity for both piano and personal health, IMHO. Thumpe Sent from Yahoo! Mail for iPad

---

From: Aart in America Piano Company <aartin...@optonline.net>;
To: <pian...@googlegroups.com>;
Subject: Re: [pianotech] Correct Humidity for Steinway "B"
Sent: Wed, Oct 23, 2013 1:50:16 AM

[lcl...@yahoo.com]

Well then, Joe, you'd better not look between the pages of the "Steinway Magazine". (Could prove fatal!) Makes "Town and Country" look like the "Weekly World News".

Thumpe Sent from Yahoo! Mail for iPad

---

From: Joseph Garrett <joega...@earthlink.net>;

To: <pian...@googlegroups.com>;
Subject: Re: [pianotech] Correct Humidity for Steinway "B"

Sent: Wed, Oct 23, 2013 12:34:33 AM

[lcl...@yahoo.com]

Meant to say "...no water got on it...". Mercifully, the lady who kicked in the $100K for this thing got Alzheimer's and died, before anyone told her how ungratefully her donation had been treated. (But I was mightily tempted to tell her!)

Thumpe Sent from Yahoo! Mail for iPad

---

From: lcl...@yahoo.com <lcl...@yahoo.com>;
To: pian...@googlegroups.com <pian...@googlegroups.com>;

Subject: Re: [pianotech] Correct Humidity for Steinway "B"

Sent: Wed, Oct 23, 2013 2:12:25 AM

[Joseph Garrett]

Don,

That was last year's marketing department.<G>

Joe

-----Original Message-----
From: Don
Sent: Oct 22, 2013 6:49 PM
To: "pian...@googlegroups.com"
Subject: Re: [pianotech] Correct Humidity for Steinway "B"

Hi Aart,

The "old" literature from Steinway recommends 50% plus or minus 2.5%


 
Regards,
Don Rose, B.Mus., A.M.U.S., A.MUS., R.P.T.
Non calor sed umor est qui nobis incommodat
mailto:pian...@yahoo.com http://www.donrose.ca/
Box 37181, Regina, SK S4S 7K4
306-539-0716

Captain of the Tool Police
Squares R I
gpianoworks.com

[Isaac OLEG]

Yes I agree. 38- 45 are more or less on the dry side anyway, those are levels you find in factory.

Not so long ago the HR level that was advised was about 60% (+- 20% !!) 

I scratched my head a lot with that one./

I believe it is due to the advent of digital hygropmeters that we see those new numbers The hair hygrometer tend to show more than 50% where the digital one shows 42%) it is just a tendency, but real.

(also the heating is more consistent and generalized today) 

Wood are worked "dry" in a dryer state today (than it was in the 50's.) 

32% is said accepteable if the temperature is not too high (there is a table showing "accepteable ranges" on the Petrof web site. ) 

32 % and winter heating and the soundboard is at risk.

[Isaac OLEG]

Well I have seen once a new Steinway B 4 years old, placed among green plants in a veranda under the sun .

It looked as if the piano had yet 20 years. I "complained" about that, and never seen the customer again ;) 

Le mercredi 23 octobre 2013 02:34:33 UTC+2, Joseph Garrett a écrit :