What is the difference between upright overstrung and straight strung pianos?
A. Basically overstrung pianos are designed to have their bass strings crossing diagonally from top left to bottom right across the other strings. This gives the bass strings more length than that of the straight strung piano where all the strings run vertically from top to bottom. It also means that the bass bridge is better situated slightly closer to the centre of the soundboard which in turn transmits the sound vibrations better across the soundboard giving the overstrung piano a better tone than the straight strung piano. As with most things there are exceptions to this rule eg. Bluthner made a very good quality straight strung piano which had a far better tone than many inferior overstrung pianos.
