Is The Piano Overstrung and Underdamped?

Overstrung / Straight-Strung / Overdamped / Underdamped?

These baffling words are just a description of the configuration of a piano and many people use them without actually knowing what they mean and how the configuration affects the playing and sound of a second-hand piano.

The modern configuration of an upright piano is overstrung (the strings form an X shape when you look at them) and underdamped (you can see the hammers when you look in the top of the piano and the dampers touch the strings below where the hammers strike) as shown in this picture:

There is a distinct break in the stringing and you can see the hammers and the dampers.

This configuration has two advantages – by crossing the bass strings over the treble strings you get longer bass strings and therefore a purer tone (short bass strings sound ‘tubby’ or dull), and by having the dampers under the hammers you get a more efficient cut-off of the sound when they fall back onto the strings.

Older pianos can also have this configuration, or they can be overstrung and overdamped as shown here:

Here you can see the break in the stringing, but the hammers are hidden by the dampers.

or straight strung and underdamped as here:

Here you see there is no break in the stringing, but the hammers are visible.

 or straight strung and overdamped, which is the earliest configuration as here:

No break in the stringing and the hammers are hidden.

If the piano is tall then the string configuration is less important as the bass strings will be long anyway. Shorter pianos and spinets are always overstrung as they only started to be mass-produced when overstringing was developed.

Grand pianos will be either overstrung (modern configuration) as on this Bechstein Model C grand piano:

This 7ft 8in Bechstein Model C grand piano has the bass strings crossed over the treble strings.

or straight-strung (early configuration) shown here on an 1880's Broadwood grand piano:

All the strings on this antique Broadwood grand piano are parallel.

If you are buying your first piano for a learner then don’t let the configuration put you off an instrument that you like – remember that the older pianos were state-of-the-art when they were built and in some cases cost more than the house they were put into!

In my next post I'll cover other things to look out for when you're considering buying a used piano.