Richard Moody wrote: > > Del > > So what about the pianos you put new soundboards in and what ever > else you do? They are supreme aren't they? > If you don't believe the best sounding pianos that have ever been > heard are being built today, ask me where they are, and I will tell > you where to go. > I don't mean this to be a flame, as I hope I can include rebuilt > pianos on the proposed dream trip of hearing the best pianos ever. > Well perhaps you point in the argument, of all the pianos built, > only a few are truly of artestic merit. However, I think there are more than > a few available to more than a "few dihards" The top ten makers are > producing pianos as good or better than ever. That is more than a > few. And more than enough to satisfy the contemporary artistic > demands of the home, studio and music industry. > > Richard Moody > > ps I refer readers to Del's post re a different piano design...of > 2-14-98 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Richard, Nope. Rebuilt pianos are not allowed. Not yours, not mine, not anyone's. That misses my point entirely. Every time a piano is rebuilt/restored/remanufactured/whatever, a new piano goes unsold. In fact, we should probably eliminate most new pianos with an actual selling price (forget the utterly ridiculous Suggested Retail Price -- they only drive otherwise interested people out of the store.) in excess of $25,000 or $30,000. Why? Well, let's do a quick reality check here. Let's say that you're a reasonably talented pianist. You have a good day job, but you really love your piano. You currently have a 1923 Matchless Model X that has pretty much reached the end of its useful life span. The time has come for something to be done about that. You've got a few buck to spare -- finally -- you've gotten the kids through school and you just got that big raise. So you go shopping. Since you already own a Matchless, and you already have good warm fuzzy feelings about them, you go to the local Matchless store to look at a new one. Once you get past the "sticker shock" of seeing $54,950 actually written out in real numbers, you sit down -- after looking at that price tag, you have to sit down anyway -- to play this nearly priceless jewel. Ah, the sound. Yes, the sound is certainly familiar. In fact, the bass isn't much different than your old piano at home. A little bit, maybe, but not all that much. The action feels some different, but is it $54,950 worth better? In fact, is it really any better at all? You wonder. But, you go ahead and play a few pieces. Gosh, that troublesome area in the fifth/sixth octave is still there. Even in this piano. A little bit better, to be sure, but $54,950 worth better? Hmmm! And the treble... Yes, it might be a little bit brighter, maybe a bit cleaner, but again... Sustain? Well, maybe. But still. You really expected something a bit more for $54,950. The bass/tenor crossover? Again, you look at that $54,950 price tag and wonder... So, you call your faithful piano tuner and ask a few probing questions. You wonder why, for $54,950 that new piano doesn't sound a whole lot better than your old one. And you thought your old one was worn out. And your faithful piano tuner explains to you that there really haven't been a lot of improvements in the design of the piano in the past 75 years since your faithful old piano was built. He explains to you that because of this you can actually have your old piano rebuilt for a fraction of the cost of a new piano and, guess what?, it will not only sound as good as that new one you just played, it might even sound -- and play -- better. You ask a few more questions. You find out that rebuilding your old Matchless X will cost you about $15,000. OK. More or less, depending on where you live. It might even be $20,000. Before looking at the price tag on that new piano, you might have been a bit taken aback at that figure. Today it seems like a bargain. So, you ask your faithful piano tuner for some second -- even third -- opinions -- even $15K or $20K is a lot of money -- and he gives you the names and phone numbers of a couple of other piano technicians you can talk to, he sends you a couple of nice looking technical papers from some organization you've never heard of before -- its called the Piano Technicians Guild -- but they sound official and the papers sure look good. Finally, he gives you the names of a couple of people in the community that have pianos similar to yours that have been recently rebuilt. These folks, it turns out, are delighted with their newly rebuilt pianos. You also find out that piano nuts really like to talk about their pianos. In fact, one of them invites you over to play on his rebuilt Matchless X and you decide to go. Lo and behold! It really does feel better and sound better than those new ones you played just last week. (If your faithful piano tuner was on the ball, he will have stopped by earlier on the day of your visit and touched up the tuning and made sure the voicing is smooth and lush. At no charge to the piano owner, of course.) It doesn't take you long to figure out that $15K or $20K is going to be a whole lot easier on your bank account than is that $54,950. You go for the rebuild and another new piano sale is lost. That's my point. Regards, Del
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