Craftsmanship
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To match the grain pattern of our naturally finished grand piano tops to their beveled edges, we undercut the tops 1/8 inch (3 mm) and insert carefully selected edge veneers.
It has been estimated that each Steinway incorporates 1,000 or more such details which set it apart from other pianos. They are all important. One factor, however, brings them all together in an instrument that transcends its mechanical soul to become a true work of art. Craftsmanship.
The Steinway Tradition
Steinway & Sons was founded by master craftsmen, trained in the best European tradition. They built their pianos one at a time, applying skills that were handed down from master to apprentice, generation after generation. We still build our pianos that way. Each Steinway grand piano, for example, takes nearly a year to create. Nothing is hurried. Even the carefully selected woods employed in the rims, tops, soundboards, and actions cure for months in our yard, kilns and conditioning rooms, until they stabilize at a rigidly specified moisture content.
From Instrument to Steinway
Steinway craftsmen transform those woods into components ranging from massive to delicate. Our grand piano rim, for example, consists of eighteen 3/16 inch thick layers of Eastern rock maple and, with our bell-quality, full cast-iron plate, withstands 45,373 pounds of tension exerted by the strings.
On the other hand, the finest acoustic-quality spruce is fashioned into the delicate curve of our Diaphragmatic soundboard which tapers gently from 8mm at the center to 5mm at the edge, assuring the full, rich Steinway sound.
Ultimately, the pieces — massive and delicate — come together through the interweaving of craft and technology until the instrument is complete. However, it is not a Steinway until voicing gives it the special quality that makes it unique. Here, every subtle nuance is drawn out by balancing and adjusting the keys and shaping, hardening or softening each hammer.
In the end, the new piano is transformed from myriad components into an instrument. And, from an instrument into a Steinway.