Piano Restoration (with commentary): German Semi Concert Grand

[@JacobEmch91]

An update (and a better recording) of this instrument can be viewed here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/pYvMq319mb2qftEsi=nosz4Zmd3HG642Dl

[@BedhamptonpianoshopCoUk]

What a craftsman you are Jacob,as a piano technician of 35 years I can appreciate the hours and hours spent doing this kind of work a joy to watch

[@JacobEmch91]

Thank you for the kind words.

[@marksmale827]

My Scottish music teacher in NZ had a Schiedmayer (6' or thereabouts) she had brought over from Scotland. I don't know whether her parents bought it new or second-hand in Aberdeen, but it has the most sumptuous, rich tone you will ever hear on a piano. In need of major restoration now after all these years of use. I played an upright in a music store in Dunedin some years ago, a similarly beautiful tone. They were an outstanding piano manufacturer.

[@longhaulblue]

Despite your subdued narration, it's obvious you are a perfectionist and are passionate about your work and craftsmanship. Bravo!!

[@Gourockian1]

Very interesting video. My granddaughter recently was given a free 1910 Model D Schiedmayer baby grand which, although is in good general condition for its age, is in need of a through cleaning and restoration.

[@hijmestoffels5171]

I’m glad KZbin showed me this video, what a joy to watch!

[@soulechene]

Absolument passionnant cette remise en état et le restaurateur est également un très bon pianiste.

[@myboibill]

It’s fascinating to watch your videos especially this one with the commentary. Because of your musical marriage and your very fine ability to play the I know you would argue with that regard to true dimension to someone who is a technician in a rebuild or a really. I am fortunate that here in New England I am someone who used to play really well and still plays in a small orchestra and he has close to your abilities. The people in your area are fortunate to have you. Thanks for always posting these. You’re very enjoy

[@fulcherpj]

I was pretty impressed with your restoration skills on this amazing piano…..then you played some very difficult music… all from memory!! A very talented guy for sure!

[@fredrutter610]

Great piano technician and excellent pianist - all rolled into one!

[@musicaldiscovery1434]

The sound of that piano is spectacular. Bravo Jacob, bravo!!

[@hurstbear]

thank you for narrating a bit more on this. It was very informative and you play really nicely and the tones on this piano are beautiful.

[@VTownGregory]

Such a pleasure to see this. I have the same model from the same period but in rosewood. And ivory keys! I live in the San Francisco Bay Area. There was a Scheidmayer dealer in SF in the 1960s.

[@JacobEmch91]

Wow it must be beautiful.

[@fnersch3367]

Love this stuff. About 25 years ago I had the rare privilege of restoring my great uncle's 1781 Kusder (London) grand piano. Being a wooden harped piano over 200 years old, the restoration was a major challenge. Great job you did here on this nicely preserved Schiedmayer.

[@nyonii]

That strength when you lift the whole lid by your self, opening the lid only on my 5'7 is a bit struggle already. Gotta say great job, i enjoy playing them as well as watching technicians bring them back to life.

[@vincentdisalvo-yv3ge]

What a really superb video !! You certainly showed your creative abilities as a master craftsman in your piano restoration. The fact that you also have pianistic abilities gives you added love and attraction in your work as opposed to someone who can only fix things but not immerse himself in the pleasure of his accomplishments. People in your geografical area are very lucky to have someone with your talent and expertise to service their piano needs. You fill in the tradition of the European craftsmen for perfection in his work. In our culture that tradition is seriously lacking.

[@gabi.coroian]

What an extraordinary job you did! An amazing result!

[@fulcherpj]

Love this video! Many helpful tips on piano restoration and the final demonstration was excellent!

[@JacobEmch91]

Thank you for the kind words.

[@fulcherpj]

@@JacobEmch91 you’re welcome, your presentation very much earned it!

[@gregonline6506]

Danke für die detaillierten Erklärungen, sieht nach richtig viel Arbeit aus! Tatsächlich habe ich noch nie von Schiedmayer gehört, in der Musikschule in Wien gab es natürlich nur Bösendorfer, danach habe ich gelegentlich ein Steinway gespielt, aktuell bin ich zuhause mit dem Yamaha U3 gut bedient. Aber dieses Klavier klingt wirklich toll! Und für die Tonaufnahme mit dem iPad beeindruckend. Vielen Dank für dieses tolle Video!

[@rogercarroll2551]

Such a neat job ! The sound is very fine and balanced. Quite beautiful.

[@Gershwin48]

Very well done video. You explain what you’re doing very well. This is the first “Poly” repair Ive seen done. Mic-ing the piano has as much to do with the room noise as proper placement and then the microphone last. I think it helps that you are also an accomplished pianist. The indescribable nuances players notice are mostly skipped because the language for describing them is so imprecise. Bravo.

[@JacobEmch91]

Thank you and thank you for the insight on mic-ing. I’ve got a few other videos with more involved polyester repairs if you’re interested in that. Cheers

[@geoff7517]

Sounds amazing!

[@gkchannel1963]

Wow! Amazing job all around. Congratulations- an inspiration!

[@SunnyAustria]

Great Work! It sounds really great. But i was shocked about the shape of the lid. My 100+ years old Piano doesnt have so many scratches.

[@JacobEmch91]

Thank you. I think they used it as a table. I've seen a lot worse, though.

[@andyballard1883]

Thank you for a great video Jacob. Just to let you know the pianist Nahre Sol recent did a good video on her KZbin channel about miking up pianos for both professional recording and for home studio level.

[@JacobEmch91]

Hey thanks! I’ll check it out!!

[@jamesarthofer3413]

Beautiful craftsmanship you put into your work. Getting that finish to showroom condition would probably take days and days and more days. Looks amazing, sounds incredible and so does your playing. Im hooked, you have a new subscriber.

[@matthewraden5210]

You make everything look so easy😮

[@bryanpersaud9947]

Beautiful work, Jacob!

[@CarlosGimeno.]

Un instrumento magnífico en muy buenas manos, en todos los sentidos. ¡Bravo!

[@michaeljaneschitz-kriegl9598]

Very nice sound!

[@Gavinbrady-Pianist]

Thanks for this! I actually live very close to Stuttgart! Lovely rach2 at the end too.

[@JacobEmch91]

Thank you, Gavin.

[@Anthony-eo4hn]

Hello There - You do absolutely fantastic work. I just wanted to commend you. I sat pretty much mesmerized throughout the course of your presentation. I should be in the market to purchase within the next year (need a little more space) and will definitely be checking back in with you! Regards, Anthony

[@JacobEmch91]

Thank you for the kind words. Check my website finepianotuning.net for my current inventory. I try my best to keep it updated. This particular piano (Schiedmayer) just got back from a longer term rental. Cheers

[@nickyork8901]

Lovely playing, I would not call that fumbling by any means - great sound. I found the video fascinating (violinist/violin maker).

[@stefanostefano2561]

Hello, congratulations for your videos and your excellent work. I am writing to you from Italy, please forgive my bad English. I wanted to ask you if the surface should not be decontaminated with the clay bar between sanding and polishing. I would also like to know what kind of colors you use to mix with the resin. Thank you

[@JacobEmch91]

Hi there, thank you for the kind words. I guess I’m not familiar with the clay bar you are referring to? Regarding the color- it’s an intensive black dye ordered from alliedpiano.com. I don’t know if you’ll be able to order that in Italy :/ Cheers

[@stefanostefano2561]

Hello, this is a clay bar used in bodywork to remove the smallest impurities before polishing. Thanks for the advice, I'm going to check out the site you recommended.@@JacobEmch91

[@brandonevans7438]

came out lovely

[@leightonshehan7423]

do you use any kind of tool/jig to position the key bushings? or just positioning it by hand, cutting it, and putting the call in?

[@JacobEmch91]

By hand. a rule of thumb I learned was to bring it to the other side of the mortise to get the correct length/depth into the key. Brush on the glue, put the caul in to clamp it (it should be snug but not too tight, testing should be done before glueing to determine the correct thickness of cloth), and cut it off. There are other ways to install them, using a bushmaster, it’s a little faster but wastes a lot of bushing cloth. There are also ways of glueing in one side of the key first, then the other side after that side’s glue has dried. There are also the metal clamps you can buy to clamp the bushing in if you don’t have the cauls. They are very strong and tend to squeegee out a lot of the glue, creating a glue bubble on the other side of the cloth, which will making a clicking noise.

[@andreabalmas1342]

Very interesting, but some operations are impossible to see, because the operator is too muche speed or he covers the camera

[@is-super]

May I ask how to configure the paint for the touch-up paint,thank you

[@JacobEmch91]

I would recommend visiting alliedpiano.com and downloading their 52-page polyester repair manual.

[@is-super]

@@JacobEmch91 Thank yOU~

[@smoideen]

I really enjoyed this from beginning to end. What is name of the song by Isaac Albéniz at 42:25? Thank you

[@JacobEmch91]

Hey thanks! It’s the middle section of La Vega from the Alhambra Suite. Albeniz - La Vega - Steinway M from 1915 Fully Restored kzbin.info/www/bejne/mGbLY5Wcl89od9E

[@sebthi7890]

fantastic piano... the 1970s Germany pianos could have been quite boring. A pity that they stopped their piano production, the marketing is absolutely more important than quality. I found that Kawai produced for a while pianos under the name Schiedmeyer, now i understand why😂.

[@matthewraden5210]

Steinways that come directly from the factory still need to have fine-regulation and voicing. They are not “concert-ready.” German Steinways are another story.

[@wizardsiras4347]

I am not sure but I think you can use sealer or pu polish or melamine polish

[@michaeldob9526]

Foot pedal get no love? Do you have something against feet? Otherwise, great job.

[@JacobEmch91]

😆 I took it apart and polished everything! Didn’t need much other than that and quick adjusting.

[@mr.washeewashee4082]

I have a 1914 schiedmayer upright. It needs a lot more work though.

[@christiangeiselmann]

What kind of finish is on that corpus?

[@JacobEmch91]

Polyester

[@donprior9144]

On polyester lids that are really bad I sand it down up to 600 and then 1000 and then spray acrylic black enamel. If you spray it just right you can walk away from it and it looks perfect just like high polished polyester. Of course you can polish the enamel if you have to. It is way to expensive to shoot polyester on a piano unless you are doing multiple pianos.

[@JacobEmch91]

Thank you, Don. I wonder if that’s what Do Re Mi does.

[@gges1605]

Try using a zoom h6 mic to record one of the best ways to record acoustic sounds

[@JacobEmch91]

Thank you!

[@Hammondbrass]

Great video! To throw in my two cents about sanding and polishing: I use an automotive DA polisher with a 6 inch disk and a foam pad for wet sanding. I don’t know if it comes out “perfect” like the factory, but the disks are pretty cheap and the dual action of the rotation must help with the scratches. Besides water, do you use any other lubrication? I use ONR (a rinse less wash) and a tiny drop of dish soap. Btw, ONR is a great piano case and key cleaner. It leaves no residue and cuts down on static so it doesn’t attract as much dust. I’m a piano tech based in Houston, but I came to piano touch-up as a car detailing hobbyist. There is a lot of similarities between the two but automotive paint is a lot more unforgiving 😅. Check out Pan the Organizer on KZbin. He’s got a lot of great videos!

[@JacobEmch91]

Awesome, thank you for the helpful tips. What does ONR stand for? When wet sanding polyester I’ll use water and a drop of dish soap or Murphy’s oil soap. When rubbing nitro I’ll use off-brand ammonia free glass cleaner. I used to use glass cleaner with ammonia but I would get gray streaks.

[@JacobEmch91]

It’s cool how the different trades line up. I’ll check out those videos.

[@pwk879]

​@@JacobEmch91ONR is a product called Optimum No Rinse Wash and Shine from the automotive world. For this type of work, you'd probably want the original (blue) version that does not contain a wax.

[@GarGlingT]

What the pick!

[@nathanfichter8629]

Is this piano for sale?

[@JacobEmch91]

Yes. My contact info is on my website finepianotuning.net. I’d be happy to answer any questions.

[@stevenmayhew3944]

Cb major on a tempered piano sounds exactly like B major.

[@JacobEmch91]

Yep! On the next page of the score, he switches to 5 #s.

[@josephbourque1032]

Wow I am very impressed with your attention to detail and your pianist abilities. Do you have a KZbin channel for your music?

[@Georgosen]

Э-э-х бл..... Тебя бы к нам.... В Рассею... Да инструментик бы из частного дома в сельской местности.... в работу... Там кроме скрепок с медиаторами, и с гнёздами мышиными и с кучками их скелетиков под клавишами встретился бы... Эт тебе не пыль сдувать! 🤣🤣🤣😂😂😂 Но всё равно классно в мастерской! 👍👏🤝

[@JacobEmch91]

я видел свою долю мышиных скелетов 😂