Piano Buyers Guide

View Wertheim Upright Pianos

View Wertheim Grand Pianos

Learn all the facts and make an informed decision

THE PIANO

Beautiful Wertheim traditional model,
Click below for bigger picture

The piano was invented around 1709 in Italy by Bartolomeo Christofori. It’s design was based on the instrument of the day, the harpsichord. The harpsichord having no sensitivity to touch, tone or volume, Christofori devised a hammer action to give both soft and loud sounds depending on the touch of the player hence the name “piano - forte”
(Soft and loud in Italian). The piano underwent many refinements over many years to what it is today. 

SOUND BOARD

The sound board of a piano is the speaker of the piano. It is generally made of Spruce. The best being Alaskan Sitka Spruce. The sound board can be a solid sheet or laminated “laminated has thin sheets, layered at 90 degree angles that are glued under pressure”. Lower quality instruments have laminated sound boards. The sound production is fundamentally flawed by a laminated sound board. Sound travels 3-4 times faster along the grain than it does across the grain. Sound in a laminated sound board is smeared in all directions. Resulting in a thinner, shorter note particularly noticeable in the mid-treble. The sound of a piano with a laminated sound board will not improve with age, as will a solid sound board. 
 

Your piano should have a solid sound board.  Click on the picture above to have a closer look

Wertheim pianos feature solid Alaskan Sitka Spruce sound boards.

The size “height or length as in a grand” of the piano has a direct relationship to the volume and tone that the sound board can produce. The bigger the sound boards the bigger the sound. A 9ft concert grand has remarkable volume and tonal output. 

The sound board has ribs and these ribs keep the sound board rigid in a slight curve or “Crown” to give you the ultimate tone and sustain. First, strength against the collapse of twenty five tons of pressure from the strings. Second, keeping the tuning pins in place over the life of the piano “possibly one hundred years”. Third, setting the scale/intonnation of the strings.

Click here to find out more about Hugo Wertheim and his piano factory in Melbourne

IRON FRAME

The frame serves 3 purposes:
1.) Strength against collapse of 25 tons of pressure from the strings.
2.) Keeping the tuning pins in place over the life of the piano (possibly 100 years)
3.) Keeping the piano tuned

THE BRIDGE

Click below to have a closer look at bridge manufacturing

The bridge transfers the vibrations of the strings to the sound board. The bridge is made of hard wood like Beech. The bridge is attached to the sound board running along the sound board in an ‘S’ shape. Older pianos can have split bridges creating false harmonics, rattles and other annoying sounds, a split bridge can be very expensive to repair. 

THE STRINGS

Wertheim strings are made from German high grade steel with the bass strings covered in up to two wound layers of copper wire. Each note of a piano can be made up of three strings all tuned to the same pitch for the upper and middle register. The bass notes comprise of one string for lower bass and two strings for the upper bass.

When tuned to standard pitch A440 the tension results in up to twenty five ton of string tension. This pressure is supported by the iron frame.

There are two ways strings are strung on a piano. Vertical strung “older pianos”. Over or cross strung “bass strings crossing over treble strings and vice versa” Over strung pianos offer a longer string length given the actual height of the paino. The longer the string the greater its ability of tone production transferred to the sound board.

Not many piano factories make their own strings. “ WERTHEIM” manufactures every component of
 their pianos except thr iron frame.
Click here to have a closer look at
the strings

BACKPOSTS

Back posts situated at the back of the piano compliment the structural integrity of the iron frame. Wertheim 121 cm and 131 cm upright pianos have five back posts. With modern manufacturing techniques in the casting of an iron frame and designs that extend the perimeter of the piano can do away with back posts in smaller 110cm pianos.

PIN BLOCKS

The pin block is made of laminated hard woods. This provides a secure and waterproof material for the tuning pins to be locked into while remaining loose enough for the pins to be rotated for tuning. Wertheim pianos are constructed using hard wood laminations for maximum tuning stability.

ACTION

The piano is a percussion instrument because the strings are struck with a hammer. The mechanisim that accomplishes this task is the action. The action is the sophisticated mechanism that transfers the enery in the tough of the pianist pressing the keys to the string via a system of levers and a hammer. The action of a grand piano has its hammers balanced to gravity, those of an upright piano have tabs and springs to pull the hammer back. This fact enables the grand to achieve a superior performance particularly when repetition is concerned.

The regulating and maintenance of the action is critical to the performance standards a piano is capable of. Wertheim pianos receive careful tuning, regulation, and voicing to provide the ultimate satisfaction.

DAMPER

The dampers control the ability of a string to vibrate. It is controlled in two ways. First, by the action (when a key is pressed the damper releases) Second, when the damper pedal is pressed. There are two types of dampers. Over damper (older design) and under damper (modern design). All Wertheim pianos encompass the under damper design. 

The over damper is not effective at damping the string because the damper sits close to the end of the string, above the hammer, resulting in a lot of ringing and over tones. This is particularly noticeable when playing staccato music. All these features are important in your understanding of your purchase of a Werthiem piano, to enable you to make an informed decision

All Wertheim pianos are subject to a rigorous quality control by Wertheim’s technicians and are always inspected by Australian staff before shipment.

ADVICE TO FIND THE RIGHT PIANO FOR YOU

Wertheim Student Piano GE-110

You should compare the different models of Wertheim pianos of different heights by playing octave arpeggios in the key of C in both the bass register and treble, noting the sound quality, depth and volume of each. Wertheim handcrafted pianos offer exceptional value for money made exclusively for the Australian market in a world leading “state of the art” factory, the Wertheim is a welcome return to an era of old fashioned quality. Wertheim pianos offer:
                              

 * Tonal excellence           

* Quality assurance

 *Stunning furniture finishes

 * Amazing Value

Wertheim have a comprehensive range - from stylish small uprights to grand pianos in stunning finishes including Ebony, Walnut Polish, Mahogony Brown Polish, Mahogony Red Polish and Bubinga.