Steingraeber & Söhne D-232
| Length (cm) | 232 |
| Width (cm) | 157 |
| Shop | Veenendaal |
Top quality wood
The quality of the wood is of vital importance to a piano builder and Steingraeber & Söhne takes no risks whatsoever. It is stored at a carefully controlled and constant humidity of 40%. Steingraeber only uses 'Bergfichte', slow-growing spruce with the annual rings close together, at least 250 years old. "The soundboard is not only an amplifier, but also the source of the sound. Therefore, the resonance of the wood must correspond to the register of the piano for which it is used. The solid red and white beech wood, which is used for the combs, is left to rest for another three years after entering the factory before being processed.
Voted the best piano in the world 7 times:
In the last ten years Steingraeber & Söhne pianos were awarded 7 x with 'Le Choc' - a prize for the best instrument - by the French magazine 'Le Monde de la Musique'.
Principles of classical keyboard building
In order to achieve optimum results, everything in the workshops at Steingraeber & Söhne is put together to the nearest millimetre:
Sound board, comb, cast iron frame are adapted to the soundboard and not the other way around. The frame is first smeared with paint and the imprint on the tuning pad (which, depending on the model, consists of 20 to 32 layers of beech wood) shows whether the connection for optimal communication between the different parts is perfect. All this is extremely important because, as they say with Steingraeber, "the energy of the string must be transferred to the sound board as efficiently as possible. with as little or no loss as possible". That's why even the smallest detail is not forgotten. For example, the pins that hold the strings in place on the ridge are made from exceptionally hard steel by a specialist company. The stitching of the comb is also a work that requires special attention and craftsmanship. At Steingraeber, it is still handcrafted work that involves a lot of 'Fingerspitzengefühl'.
Production process
It's not just about top material and craftsmanship, time is also an important factor, which according to Steingraeber & Söhne is greatly underestimated. At Steingraeber & Söhne, the total production time of a piano takes four months, whereas for a grand piano it is six months.
