[void]

Hi all,

wonder is anyone come across any suppliers or anything like this?
I was talking to my mate and he mentioned there is a sort of 'condom', a clear laminate of sort to apply on the surface of grand piano lids so as to minimize the unwanted reflection..

Any help / advice / comments are welcomed!

And once again, congrats to London for the Olympics.. pretty sure you Brits will be busy in the months to come..

Rgds,
void

[jiggles]

void, on 30 April 2012 - 02:31 AM, said:

And once again, congrats to London for the Olympics.. pretty sure you Brits will be busy in the months to come..

Salt, Rub Wounds....

[Richard the chandler]

Matt dulling spray? would reduce the reflection and be easy to wipe off with some water and elbow greese afterwards.



Richard at Flints

[Oldradiohand]

Simple answer no.1, position the piano so the lid can be on half or full stick and the reflections end up somewhere that in't a problem. Simple answer no.2 , remove the lid.....

[gyro_gearloose]

Simple answer no 3. : Spray on furniture polish. Do not wipe it off until after the show.

[jonathanhill]

Please tell me that you wouldn't put anything on a Steinway Model D...

[J Pearce]

The most common solution is to remove the lid.

I'd be hesitant to apply any solution or polish to any piano of value. If you get it in the wrong place it could wreck the strings, hammers, dampers etc.

You could artistically drape a soft piece of fabric over the open lid?

[IRW]

J Pearce, on 01 May 2012 - 08:49 PM, said:

The most common solution is to remove the lid.

I'd be hesitant to apply any solution or polish to any piano of value. If you get it in the wrong place it could wreck the strings, hammers, dampers etc.

You could artistically drape a soft piece of fabric over the open lid?

Shirely you can't be serious? (Ha! Always wanted to use that one!)

Really though, I'm not a piano expert, but that has got to affect the sound, even if the lid is open?

This post has been edited by IRW: 01 May 2012 - 11:12 PM

[jonathanhill]

Are you talking about unwanted reflections into the audience? In that case would turning it round so the keys are on stage right not solve this? The lid would then reflect upstage on a long stick.

Edit: I would always resist taking the lid off a piano unless absolutely necessary, for maintenance, for example.

This post has been edited by jonathanhill: 01 May 2012 - 11:45 PM

[J Pearce]

The main purpose of the open lid, at full stick, is to reflect the sound out into the audience; this why a solo pianist will play facing stage left. To help with the reflections the lid is generally made of very dense wood, a piano lid on a grand can easily reach 40kg+. As such a lightweight piece of fabric on the dead (top, upstage) side would not have a huge acoustic impact.

Might it also be safe to assume that if the light reflections are that much of an issue in the show that the piano is to be mic'ed? It is common, or at least not rare, either to use a mic setup that runs with the lid closed (better separation) or to remove the lid entirely to allow better access for mic'ing.

[Bryson]

Think laterally! I always used to make a feature of the super-shiny open lid. Light the inside of the piano and the audience get a lovely view of the hammers working away. The jazz audience love that sort of thing...

[revbobuk]

void, on 30 April 2012 - 02:31 AM, said:

Hi all,

wonder is anyone come across any suppliers or anything like this?
I was talking to my mate and he mentioned there is a sort of 'condom', a clear laminate of sort to apply on the surface of grand piano lids so as to minimize the unwanted reflection..

Any help / advice / comments are welcomed!

And once again, congrats to London for the Olympics.. pretty sure you Brits will be busy in the months to come..

Rgds,
void

I'm getting confused here. Could the OP just clarify - reflected light or reflected sound? I presumed he/she meant light, but some of the answers seem to assume sound is the issue.

[andy_s]

No, I think everyone understands it to be reflected light, but one of the suggested solutions then prompted a debate as to whether that particular solution would have an adverse affect on the sound of the instrument......

[the kid]

I know ikea and other such home places do static held frosting for windows that might be of use.

[SoLiEn]

I concur with whoever said turn the piano round so that the lid is facing upstage, means it also reflects the sound towards the audience, and you dont have any issues with refelections.. if you can, light the inside with a profile in L134/ L135 and it gives the piano a stunning amber glow..