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Posts Tagged ‘piano’

Press Release – Urlich Sauter

Sunday, May 30th, 2010

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

To:   All Art,  Music and Community Editors, Piano Music Lovers

June 3rd and 4th  2010, San Diego: Come and Meet Carl Ulrich Sauter—Master Piano Builder, Whose Family Name Still Appears On Pianos After 192 Years.

PianoSD.com is pleased to announce the visit to San Diego of the Sauter company’s owner and operator, Carl Ulrich Sauter.  Mr. Sauter’s name appears on every piano manufactured by the Sauter Pianoforte Manufactur Company which has the tradition of building pianos since 1819—the longest family owned piano company in the world.  “Its survival is owed to the instruments built with Tradition, Quality & Style.” describes Ric Overton of Piano SD. “Mr. Sauter is coming to insure the integrity of the Sauter name, his very own, in North America.”

Relatively new in San Diego, Sauter started with its young founder assisting in the building of pianos for Ludwig van Beethoven. Since then, the piano company has remained in the family, carried the family name and continued with its vast knowledge of piano style and construction throughout many decades.   While the oldest, it is also innovative.  By combining visual sophistication and unequal sound productions, Sauter is definitely a leader.

Sauter Pianos are known for their unique and superb designs.In the words of Carl Ulrich Sauter himself: “We just do not care about phony marketing strategies and target groups. We follow our dream to build the best upright or grand piano of the world and ensure that today there is a broad choice of real instruments that are far superior to the corporate cookie cutter manufacturers.”   Sauter pianos qualify in every way among the best-made pianos in the world.   Caring musicians select the brand for its sound qualities.

Ric Overton, owner of Piano SD, will host a public meeting for Mr. Sauter on June 3, and a chapter meeting of Piano Technical Guild on June 4.   “At PianoSD.com”, says Overton, “we strive to make people happy and make music fun. With a strong emphasis on music education, we want people to understand what they are buying and understand music. Our goal is to make PianoSD.com a place where Music, Education and the Arts come together, this is why we are delighted to host Mr. Sauter and have everyone meet the man who leads the oldest piano manufacturer that still operates under its family name.”

Contact Information

Ric Overton
Owner, PianoSD.com

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Cleaning Your Piano

Tuesday, May 25th, 2010

Cleaning is never fun and easy but, it is something that must be done from time to time.

What we use in the store is a polish that is designed specifically for the high polish pianos.  Although the easiest and simplest way to do the cleaning is by using a very soft and lintless cloth like a cheesecloth or old soft T-shirt works wonders.  I say to dampen the cloth a little but only to the smallest extent and my adage is to wash your hands, rinse the soap off well and then dry them on the cloth that you are going to use to dust.  In other words very lightly damp.

Dust Bunnies

If your piano has a wood grain or a satin finish then do the same thing except be sure to wipe with the grain of the wood.  NEVER EVER use furniture polish to clean your piano.  It is not good for the piano and it will take a long time to get the residue off.

Use the same technique when wiping off your keys.  DO NOT use polish or cleaner of any kind EVER to clean your keys.  If they are ivory this is not good at all because in many cases it will cause the ivory to absorb the polish and the keys will simply come off.

Here’s the tricky part.  If you have a grand piano dust will inevitably get onto the soundboard of the piano (that piece of wood that is under the big metal plate) and if you are like me at all this will make you insane.  Please do not attempt to clean that yourself.  Call a certified technician which you can find at www.PTG.org and tell them you need to clean your soundboard and have your piano tuned.  Paul McCloud at Accutone Piano Tuning www.pianoservsd.com is the guy we use here at PianoSD.com in Mission Valley in San Diego, California.

If you live in a particular humid area of San Diego for example like Carlsbad or La Jolla, you will notice that the dust will “stick” to the soundboard a little more than if you live in a drier climate like Rancho Santa Fe or San Marcos.  In the cases that the climate is a little drier you will notice that the dust gets in quicker but is a little easier removed.  However, in either case please call a certified tech to come out to do the work at his next tuning, but, let him know when you set your appointment that your piano needs a thourough cleaning that way he is prepared.

If you need some polish that is designed specifically for the piano you can find it here at PianoSD.com.

Drop by and say hello sometime we would love to meet you.

Ric Overton

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Piano Regulation

Monday, May 10th, 2010

In yesterday’s blog I discussed piano tuning, today I thought I might touch on regulating a piano.

Generally speaking, regulation has little to do with the tone of the piano but, more to do with the way the piano feels while you are playing it.  Each part of the piano is made of wood and wool/felt with some metal parts.  On occasion the metal part needs small amounts of dry lubricant which can be applied by a technician only to help the parts move more freely.

At PianoSD.com we employ Accutone Piano Service, Paul McCloud who is a certified technician and can do this type of  procedure where he takes each of the 88 keys and weighs them to be sure the down weight (the amount of weight it takes to push the piano key) is correct.  He also measures the up weight (the velocity the key returns to its correct position) and makes adjustments where necessary. This can be a very tedious process because the piano technician has to insure that each piece of the piano is free to move.  Dry lubricant has to be applied at the right pivot points in order to obtain the maximum benefits for the piano.

As I said in my opening that regulation will not change the tone of the piano although it may appear to if you had a completely unregulated piano to start with and the technician brings it back to its proper regulation.  Paul McCloud of Accutone Piano Service here in Mission Valley at PianoSD.com will take each key individually and begin the process of being sure that each key not only weighs the right weight but, also the keys are free to move up and down and the hammers are free to move and play.

A proper regulation should take a couple of days 8-12 hours to complete if it is in really bad condition but after that the piano will most likely fell better than the day it was delivered to your home.  It will feel much more balanced and almost alive.  You can reach Paul McCloud of Accutone Piano Tuning at www.pianoservsd.com.

If you have questions regarding piano regulation I would be glad to help you.

Stop by sometime we would love to meet you

Ric Overton

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