Temperaments

[Ron Nossaman]

At 02:04 PM 1/26/98 -0500, you wrote:
>Hi Ron
>Your points are a given!....but how in h___ are we going to convince a
>manufacturer of this? I, literally, screamed my cigarette-ridden lungs
>out at organ manufacturers. No one listens!
>

Sure they do, they just listen to the wrong people. The bean counters and
stockholders rule. As long as there are short-term gains, life is good, and
increasingly superficial. It's a no-fault existence that's easy to justify
as long as the profits roll in. It's when they run out of cheap tricks and
possible quality downgrades that there is trouble. Even making a first rate
product, it's tough for a manufacturer to stay in business. Just like the
manufacturer likes to think he got paid for more than he produced, the
consumer likes to think they got more than they paid for. They probably
won't notice the superior quality of organ "A", but, for the SAME MONEY,
they can get organ "B" that GLOWS IN THE DARK and MAKES POPCORN! Never mind
how it sounds, there will be a new fad along next year anyway. There is so
little point in trying to supply pearls to swine that, eventually, nobody
can afford to produce pearls. Slop - now that's where it's at!



>How many are left in business now?? I'm referring to popular organs
>rather than liturgical. Liturgical organs were always a tiny part of
>organ sales. These guys were convinced that incorporating bell and
>whistles into the product while totally ignoring the tonal quality of the
>organ itself would sell organs.....it did for a while...but where are
>they now??
>

It seems to me that what is happening in the organ industry is the rough
equivalent of strip mining, or clear cutting old growth forests. Strike
fast, and run off with your pockets full. The problem is the evidence left
behind to scare off next year's potential customer. 



>You think we'll ever win, Ron?
>
>Ralph Martin


Nope, there are too many of THEM, but that doesn't mean we will quit trying.
The desire to see someone else proven wrong is too deeply ingrained in the
species. We do get to be smug in our futility once in a while when that
happens, so the thing to do is lower our standards, raise our rates, sew
some sparkly things into our tuning disguises to increase our curb appeal,
and go forth to further aggravate the situation... Or not.

I feel better now Ralph, thanks. Up the Standard!  


 Ron Nossaman