The bell on Steinway pianos?

[Jake Johnson]

I've recently run across a very few mentions of a cast iron bell that, some people claim, acts as both an anchor and a resonator, attached to the bottom of Steinway pianos, along with a single photo: http://www.shackellpianos.co.uk/images/steinway-parts/bell-casting.jpg A quick search on the internet reveals very little about this bell or bells--there may be more than one. A few people claim that , to some degree, the often mentioned "bell-like" timbre of some Steinways comes, to some extent, from the presence of these actual bells, minus a clanger, or course. Anyone know more about these? They appear to be small, so the resonance would be small. On the other hand, they appear to be attached to the cabinet, and thus would either absorb some of the vibrations or resonate. (I suspect that they may be designed to minimize cabinet resonance instead of acting as resonators themselves.) On the other hand, one side of me wants to believe that they do contribute to the sound.

[Jake Johnson]

Hate to respond to my own question, but I found a reference to this bell on the Steinway site, in a list of patented improvements. It's called the treble bell: http://www.steinway.com/technical/patents_2.shtml It appears to be just for bracing. (Some of the specs for some of the pianos mention that on smaller pianos, no bell is needed.)

[David Ferris]

Jake,

Bracing.

[Jake Johnson]

Bit of a let-down. I saw several sources that claimed it contributed to the sound.

[ohernie]

Help! :wow: My mind is going bonkers trying to figure out how anyone who has played a real instrument could think that a piece of metal that isn't free to move because it's got a bolt at one end and two bolts holding it down at the other could resonate, simply because it is described as a "bell".

Transmission? Maybe. Resonance? Not a chance. The conical shape is just an easy and strong cast.

Ernie

[Jake Johnson]

Hm...Looking back at what made me post this question, I see that the information seems to come from the same person, in a discussion of the Garritan Steinway on Sonic Matter: (two longish threads, but you can search for the term "bell." http://community.sonikmatter.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=39520 http://community.sonikmatter.com/forums/lofiversion/index.php/t25920.html I'm almost disappointed that it doesn't seem to have any sonic properties.

[ohernie]

No you're not ;). Any idea of what a wolf note it would cause? Metal bells are not known for their broad tuning. It would be like the shell ring of a Tama snare.

Ernie

[Jake Johnson]

How about a gong attached to the soundboard? (Tired of that same old Steinway sound...?)

[scope4live]

I think you might like to hear some John Cage.
He extended the acoustic piano beyond belief.
Wanted to be a Piano Tuner, guess the rubber mutes got his imagination working.

[Jake Johnson]

No, no--I was joking about the gong. Cage is fine with me in small doses, though.

[scope4live]

Actually very small for me.
But I liked his passion for exploration.
I do it everytime I perform, and everytime I make a new preset.
I love all Pianos, electric & acoustic.
But always try new things live.
Here's my latest approach to an old tune from Porgy & Bess.
It's a Fender Rhodes and a Solaris Synthesizer doing simple Sine Wave modulations.

http://www.planetz.com/forums/download/file.php?id=3845

[michael88s]

That was nice Jimmy!

[alexalin]

Hi guys,I am here to grab the some information about piano...