Sorry, that was confusingly worded. Differences between designs was meant as a comparison between say Bosendorfer and Steinway. Differences within designs was meant to refer to the differences between, say, two Steinway Bs. David Love www.davidlovepianos.com -----Original Message----- From: caut-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:caut-bounces at ptg.org] On Behalf Of David Love Sent: Friday, March 05, 2010 8:02 AM To: caut at ptg.org Subject: Re: [CAUT] Piano Preferences Each piano's tonal signature leans in a certain direction. While there are many similar design styles these days there are some distinctly different ones as well. Voicing is really the last defense for an already existing design or execution. If you compare a Bosendorfer 225 and a Steinway B in terms of design and construction it becomes pretty clear that one will never sound like the other no matter what you do and that each has its characteristic leaning based on scale design (high versus low tension), soundboard design and manufacture (including plate and rim), and finally the hammer choice dictated (hopefully) but the other two factors. There are two ways to look at differences: between different designs and within the same design (i.e. between, say, two different Steinway Bs). In the case of Bosendorfer versus Steinway the different designs will not likely have you confusing the tone of one with the other, at least not if you're paying attention. There are obviously differences that occur within the same design that have more to do with execution, prep work, and soundboard changes that take place over time or even from the factory. Those factors that contribute to differences between two pianos of the same design are different than the differences between two opposing designs. Both of those issues (between and within differences) can also be topics for the presentation and are worth noting. David Love www.davidlovepianos.com -----Original Message----- From: caut-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:caut-bounces at ptg.org] On Behalf Of Fred Sturm Sent: Friday, March 05, 2010 7:43 AM To: caut at ptg.org Subject: Re: [CAUT] Piano Preferences On Mar 5, 2010, at 7:53 AM, David Love wrote: > Probably not the right approach as it's too subjective and there are > no > answers to the questions you're asking. A better approach might be to > discuss why different pianos have different tonal characteristics > and what > those are and why. It's a discussion of design and you can talk > about the > three components of tone: scale, soundboard, hammer and how different > designs tend to produce different outcomes. It's a presentation > I've done > and can be quite interesting for people. > > David Love > www.davidlovepianos.com > > And perhaps more useful in a practical sense is what a piano technician can do to a piano to make it more appropriate to X rather than Y. Making a piano right for vocal accompanying is far different from jazz, for instance. Same piano could serve either, with the right prep (essentially voicing). When it comes to picking from current new offerings of pianos, it has more to do with differences between individual instruments, and how they have been set up, than design, for the most part. Because the differences in design aren't that significant these days, as compared to 50 or 100 or 150 years ago. Back then, one could make more of a case for one maker over another having a character suited to X. Today we certainly see variation between instruments, beyond mere voicing issues, where one is more resonant than another for instance. But "character" is in a narrower range. There are exceptions, and they tend to be German. Blüthner, for instance. A couple years ago I visited a piano teacher in France, and she had two instruments, a Gaveau and a Pleyel. The characters were quite distinct, and she had very strong opinions about which was appropriate for what music. With good reason. What's "character?" Hmm, good question <G>. Seemed like more than just scale, soundboard and hammer. One element I noticed was action, as the ratios were probably different. Another variant that has become less varied. Regards, Fred Sturm University of New Mexico fssturm at unm.edu > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: JONATHLANGH at cs.com > To: caut at ptg.org > Sent: Friday, March 05, 2010 7:50 AM > Subject: [CAUT] Piano Preferences > > > I am scheduled to give a talk on the types and brands of pianos > suited to > particular kinds of music, such as jazz, List, Beethoven, > accompanying the > voice. Do you fellows have opinions or knowledge of what pianos > might be > appropriate for certain music? > > Jonathan Langham, RPT >
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