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    How do you make a piano? We go behind the scenes at Steinway to find out...

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    They're the most famous pianos in the world – but how are they made? We went behind the scenes at Steinway's Hamburg factory to find out.

    1. steinway & sons piano

      1. Steinway & Sons

      Steinway & Sons is one of the most iconic piano makers in the world. The company was founded in Manhattan in 1853 by Henry Engelhard, a German immigrant.

    2. Steinway piano factory

      2. The Steinway & Sons factory in Hamburg

      Welcome to the beating heart of Steinway & Sons

    3. Steinway piano factory

      3. Layers of maple

      The rim of each Steinway grand includes 18 layers of maple – each layer is seven metres long and must be flawless.

    4. Steinway factory

      4. Making a Steinway: bending the rim

      At the factory in Hamburg, a technician oversees the bending of the rim for a new piano. 18 maple layers, each 22-feet long, are used to create the shape of the rim. The layers are coated with glue and stacked then made into a single form of wood with this rim-bending press.

    5. Steinway piano factory

      5. Mr Steinway

      A portrait of Mr Henry E. Steinway, the founder of the famous company, hangs on the factory wall. His aim is still the company's guiding principle: "To build the best piano possible."

    6. Steinway factory

      6. Making a Steinway: the braces

      The braces in a Steinway have to support the iconic 340-pound cast iron plate. Here a technician fits the braces to the piano rim.

    7. Steinway piano factory

      7. Different shapes and sizes

      Here you can see the difference between the different Steinway models – the concert grand 'D' is the largest piano the company makes.

    8. Steinway piano factory

      8. Making the strings

      This man operates a machine that wraps copper wire around steel to create the thicker strings in a Steinway piano

    9. Steinway factory

      9. Making a Steinway: the soundboard and bridge

      This is where the magic happens. So, according to Steinway's website, the soundboard "is a large wooden diaphragm with a wooden bridge centred on its top side. The piano strings pass over the bridge, and the bridge transfers the string energy into the soundboard. As a result, the sound of the strings is amplified." See? Magic.

    10. Steinway piano factory

      10. The cast iron frame

      Here the iconic cast iron frames are sanded down – but the company uses water so as not to scratch the frames

    11. Steinway piano factory

      11. Fitting the keyboard

      Before the keyboard is fitted the whole structure is checked

    12. Steinway piano factory

      12. Fitting the keyboard

      Before the keyboard is fitted, the whole piano structure is checked to loose joints and rogue rattles.

    13. Steinway piano factory

      13. Adjusting the hammers

      It's this woman's job to make sure each of the hammers are exactly the same distance apart on every piano.

    14. Steinway piano factory

      14. Fitting the dampers

      Here, a worker at the Steinway factory puts dampers in place. The dampers stop the strings vibrating once a note has been released. Each worked in the factory specialises in one particular job and is an expert in their particular technique.

    15. Steinway piano factory

      15. Cast iron frames drying in the factory

      The cast iron frames are sprayed gold and left to dry in the factory

    16. Steinway piano factory

      16. Inside the piano – before the strings are added

      The famous Steinway & Sons logo is painted on to the cast iron plate before the strings are added.

    17. Steinway piano factory

      17. Hammers ready to go

      The hammers are all individually checked before being fitted into a piano. If the voicer wants a more mellow tone they will stick small needles in the hammer's felt to reduce its stiffness. If they want a brighter tone the toner can apply som lacquer to the hammer.

    18. Steinway piano factory

      18. Adjusting the hammers

      A Steinway worker adjusts the piano hammers, making sure every one is identical

    19. Steinway factory

      19. Making a Steinway: the keyboard

      Now to put the keyboard together, which includes the painstaking process of making sure each key has the same weight and feel.

    20. Steinway piano factory

      20. Building a keyboard

      The Steinway keyboard is built in the factory – except the felt, which is sourced from a company specialises in making piano felt.

    21. Steinway piano factory

      21. Key hinges

      The pivot points on the keys are coated with cashmere – and each key has to feel identical to the touch. This factory worker is checking each pivot and adjusting where necessary.

    22. Steinway piano factory

      22. Keyboards ready and waiting

      Steinway keyboards ready to be housed in brand new grand pianos

    23. Steinway piano factory

      23. A stringer at work

      How do the strings get into the piano? A stringer guides each wire through a hole in the tuning pins and then uses a machine to turn the pin three times, wrapping the wire around it. The stringer than puts the pin into one of the holes in the iron plate.

    24. Steinway piano factory

      24. Lining up the hammers

      Once the strings, hammers and keyboard are in place someone has to make sure that each hammer lines up with and hits the strings in exactly the same way.

    25. Steinway factory

      25. Adjusting the hammers

      If any of the hammers do need adjusting, the wood is heated gently so it can be pushed into place.

    26. Steinway piano factory

      26. Checking the sound

      A worker at the Steinway factory (with music-themed glasses!) checks the sound of each of the strings

    27. Steinway piano factory

      27. Piano lids lined up

      Piano lids stacked up at the Hamburg factory ready to be polished and placed on brand new pianos

    28. Steinway piano factory

      28. Fancy a veneer Steinway?

      Steinway & Sons produces 'The Crown Jewel Collection' – these pianos are coated in a wood veneer, rather than the signature black Steinway polish. Unsurprisingly, these come with a higher price tag than the black or white Steinways.

    29. Steinway piano factory

      29. How Steinways measure up

      Frames from different sized pianos lined up in the factory – from the enormous Model D to the smaller Models B and A

    30. Steinway piano factory

      30. A Steinway emerges

      One of the final stages in the process is polishing the piano once it's been coated – here one of the Steinway staff works on the company's famous logo

    31. Steinway piano factory

      31. The Steinway patent

      On the wall is the patent for the company's method of bending the piano's rim into shape. It's safe to say it's fairly complex

    32. Steinway piano factory

      32. Cast iron frames

      The cast iron frames are lined up ready to have the holes drilled in them

    33. Steinway piano factory

      33. Steinway piano rims

      Queued up: piano rims wait patiently to be fitted with iron frames, braces and keyboards

    34. Steinway factory

      34. Making a Steinway: the chief voicer

      Wiebke Wunstorf is the chief voicer at Steinway's Hamburg factory. It's her job to approve the tone quality of every key in the new pianos.

    35. Steinway piano factory

      35. Preparing an upright piano

      Did you know that Steinway also makes upright pianos? Here a stringer attaches the strings to one of the company's uprights.

    36. Steinway factory

      36. Making a Steinway: the cast iron plate

      The cast iron plate at the centre of each Steinway weighs 340 pounds and has to withstand 40,000 pounds of string tension. Here, one of the Steinway factory technicians hand-paints the Steinway logo onto the plate.

    37. Steinway in London

      37. Steinway & Sons: the finished product

      And here's the finished product, in Steinway & Sons London showroom.

    38. Steinway piano factory

      38. A Steinway close-up

      The finished product – made up of over 120,000 individual parts

    39. Steinway piano factory

      39. The Steinway showroom, Hamburg

      Pianos ready to be sold wait in the showroom in Hamburg

    40. Vladimir Ashkenazy and Helene Grimaud Steinway

      40. Vladimir Ashkenazy and Hélène Grimaud

      Thank you notes from happy customers adorn the walls – including these from brilliant pianists Hélène Grimaud and Vladimir Ashkenazy

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