hammer weight

[John Musselwhite]

>Your comments hinted at what I always recommend to my customers:
>
>At today's rates. if you have less than $2-3000 to spend on a piano, you
>should at least consider digital which could very well be better than
>a corresponding "acoustic" piano.

You should also enquire about the purpose for which the instrument will be
used. If someone wants to learn *the piano*  an acoustic piano is required.
While a digital may be OK for teaching music IMO there is no substitute for
an acoustic piano.

Another factor to consider is depreciation. Three grand spent on a decent
used acoustic piano could very well bring the same or more in five to ten
years if it's looked after. Can you say the same about a digital? If you
sell and service an acoustic piano you build a relationship with a customer
that could conceivably last for generations. This sort of continuity only
exists with electronic instruments when problems develop.

> By the same token: $50,000 might buy
>2 or three ranks of pipes but it could buy much more in an electronic
>instrument.

I prefer pipes, but organs are a far cry from pianos. Digitally sampling
organ pipes and reproducing them is relatively simple and quite effective.
Digitally sampling every note on a piano for example, doesn't reflect the
reality of the subtle interplay between these notes when they are used in
combination.

>Yes, many will bring up the issue of "touch".  When I was growing up
>in the 40's and 50's, I played every imaginable instrument with keys
>as we know them.  As a result, I learned that humans are adaptable.

To a degree they are. On the other hand the quality of a piano's touch has a
major impact on whether the instrument or player can produce music on it.
You can bang out tunes on almost any old junk but the subtlties which
produce the actual music will be absent.

>I have the utmost respect for someone who can spend his entire life on
>action geometry.  We desparately need these dedicated people. However,
>if I tried to focus to that point, I'd be even "insaner" than I am!

You don't need to focus on it as other people are doing it for you. The
important thing is whether the customer is happy and will they still be
happy a few years from now.

                John

John Musselwhite, RPT               Calgary, Alberta Canada
musselj@cadvision.com              sysop@67.cambo.cuug.ab.ca