Re light action (help)

[Kenneth Sloane]

                      Subject:                              Time:  10:26 AM
  OFFICE MEMO         Re light action (help)                Date:  1/25/96

--------------A post from Bob Hohf--------------

David, your system is very complex.  By the time you take your measurements,
plug them into your computer, and analyze the output, you have created a
>secondary< source on the instrument.  I can see the value of this if you must

analyze a piano to which you do not have personal access.  But why use a
secondary source if the primary source is right in front of you?  The best
guages we have are attached to the sides of our heads and the ends of our
arms.  We should learn to use them; they are the ultimate yard-sticks by which

pianos are measured.

--------------My Reply---------------

Any quantitative system to analyze a piano action (Stanwood's, mine,
Pfeiffer's, whatever.......) cannot -- or does not even attempt to --
effectively quantitate the interaction between the action and the "voice" of
the piano. This interaction plays a huge role in how an action feels and is
one of the reasons I choose to approach action analysis less "definitively"

Ken Sloane, Oberlin Conservatory