Welmar Pianos

The story of the Welmar piano begins at the end of the first world war. The hardships of the post-war economy gave the piano trade an uphill struggle as it sought to re-establish sales and profitability. Whelpdale and Maxwell began business in 1876 importing Bluthner pianos from Germany and until the war, they had built a strong business on the qualities of the Bluthner pianos. In 1919, the public were now unhappy about buying German pianos, and Whelpdale & Maxwell had to find an alternative source of income until the mood against German pianos had softened.

Cremona Ltd. of Camberwell, London, made pianos for the trade and used names like Squire & Longson, Ronson and Paul Newman. In 1919 Whelpdale & Maxwell commissioned Cremona Ltd to make pianos using the trade name Welmar.

The Cremona team continued to develop and improve their pianos - particularly the metal frame and the soundboard. But in 1929, disaster hit when the factory was burnt down. The company never recovered from the catastrophy and closed the business in 1934.

Whelpdale Maxwell & Codd (as it now was), managed to acquire the Cremona designs, jigs and templates and began making Cremona-designed pianos but using the Welmar name at a new factory at Clapham Park Road. 

Production continued at Clapham until 2001, when, at an extremely difficult time for the piano trade, all was moved for a short time, to Stroud in Gloucestershire.

The Welmar piano has always been appreciated by serious piano players and students. They were built with the Bluthner tone in mind, by craftsmen devoted to the art of piano-building. Welmar pianos are almost universally admired by piano tuners! And, as they are generally hard to please - this is no small achievement.

Welmar Serial Nos.

Directory of Piano Makers

© Steve Burden    

The Early History of the Piano

The Piano was invented and developed to give keyboard instruments the ability to express a full range of dynamics. The harpsichords and spinets of the early 1700s could give out a big sound, but they lacked power of expression. The Clavichord was capable of expression but due to its small size, it was suited only for private playing.

Bartolomeo Cristofori was a maker of harpsichords and, aware musicians wanted a greater capacity to convey the full spectrum of passion and emotion - from the thunderous right through to the tender. With this in mind he set out to invent a mechanism that would produce this dynamic range for keyboard instruments. Taking the harpsichord as an experimental model, he replaced the plectra with a set of hammers. This was a radical shift away from the traditions of instrument makers and was a bold step into the unknown. Eventually his Piano e Forte was exhibited in 1711. 

By 1720, much less like an adapted harpsichord, the piano had become an instrument in a class of its own, it was a work of ingenious originality. Cristofori died in 1731. Leaving no pupils to continue its development along the lines he might have pursued himself, he entrusted his ‘piano e forte’ to the next generation of instrument builders to make of it, whatever they could.

During these early years, the piano was found only among the very rich and affluent. It was closely associated with culture and refinement, and its survival depended upon generous sponsorship from High Society and Royalty. For the piano to reach the greater part of society, it would have to be manufactured in large numbers and sold at affordable prices.

The piano quickly made its mark on the world of music and was fast becoming a very sought-after musical instrument. Inevitably it attracted the notice of enterprising businessmen who saw an opportunity to make healthy profits. 

Producing large numbers of pianos during the 19th century was no small achievement. In a few years differences of style developed in the piano-making countries. The Vienese School was initially very popular as their action was light and easy to play, but the English School produced a stronger, more sustained sound. The layout of the hammer action also differed - eventually what worked well, was adopted by all makers - even if some individualism of style and design was maintained.   

With a steady demand firmly established, the piano earned its permanent place in musical history. The world of music, without a piano, is impossible for us to imagine. Mankind would be so much the poorer if Bartolomeo Cristofori had not sought to satisfy the keyboard musician's craving for expression. 

The Piano World

© Steve Burden
Pianology

Replacing Hammer Heads

Replacing Piano hammers is not a quickly done job. It can appear easy and straightforward to take off the old hammers and and replace them with new ones, but like everything else to do with a piano action, unless the job is done neatly and evenly, the end result will be a poorly sounding piano and a miserable technician! Not what you want after an expensive and time-consuming project.

The cost of a set of piano hammers is more than most people would like to spend on an interesting experiment. If the experiment goes wrong, you will have to spend more money get someone to fix it. A set of new hammer heads must match the old ones. A 5mm difference here or a slight change of angle there, will only guarantee you yet more hassle and grief to get the piano to play properly when you've done all the work.

The first job is to dismantle the action. (The job is similar for a grand piano but for the sake of clarity, the instructions here are for an upright piano.) Disconnecting tapes and taking off the levers will give good access to the hammer flange screws. Take the hammers off, place them on a tray and number them – just in case they, for some reason, get mixed up. Most new hammer heads come already bored - if your set is not already bored, you have yet another 'mountain' to climb. The secret of success in action work is in the precision and care with which it is carried out.  

Removing the old hammer heads from the shanks is done one at a time, using a special tool called a shank extractor. Some technicians like to leave guide hammers on the action so that the new hammers can be lined up to keep the same line as the old ones. Other technicians prefer to take exact measurements from the each hammer as it is being dealt with. If guide hammers are used, it is important to fit the right hammer head to these guide hammers. 

With the old head removed, the shank cleaned of old glue, (any broken shanks replaced) it is quite simple to glue the new hammer head onto the shank. It helps if the fit is firm and snug without being too tight. If the fit is on the tight side, take care not to twist the shank when fitting the new hammer head. Brittle, old shanks break easily. 

When ready, refit the hammers back onto the action frame. The ‘noses’ of the new hammers heads should be in a nice straight line. There is a number of ways of replacing hammer heads, all of them are perfectly acceptable if done well. Fitting the hammer heads to new pianos is done in seconds, but away from the factory, dealing with replacement parts it is a much slower process. 

Putting the action back into the piano is the start of another set of very technical adjustments to ensure the proper working of the piano action.

Do not underestimate what is involved in getting a piano to work well. A change to any part in the fabric of the mechanism has a knock-on effect on the function of the action, how the piano plays, and how it sounds. 

If only replacing piano hammers were like replacing a failed light bulb! Then, any careful amateur could do it. But the reality is that replacing hammer heads is not really a job for the amateur - at least not without professional advice and help. 

At best, this article can only be an introduction to the very basics of the job. So please, be careful!

Technical File

© Steve Burden