Steinway B plate change

[Antares]

I have recently worked on a number of Steinway grands with hammer striking
point problems.
In all cases, the new hammers in the the problematic (third) section had to
be re-glued.
This is a fairly common procedure with many Steinway grands (even with brand
new ones right inside the factory), but it remains a time consuming and
expensive pain in the neck. I am sure this problem is due to irregularities
in the making of the frame (and) in combination with the construction of
soundboard and bridges.
It is , apparently, not so easy to make "the" perfect instrument but one
thing is always in favor of the Steinway concept : When treated "right", a
Steinway grand always has the superb tone.
Giving "any" instrument the right treatment, is yet another matter, but for
me it is "slumberland time" (for me).

antares@euronet.nl


>Sorry Newton, I have no technical proof (as most of us don't for most of
>what we say here).   Larry Fine in his book, other techs from Steinway, and
>_unbiased, independent_ techs (such as myself) that I respect have told me
>that "_small_ deffects were corrected" with the new plate, such as slight
>strikepoint changes.  I find no problem with the new plate and have recently
>prepped and serviced several and I think they're great after dealer prep. I
>should not have typed in the word "much" in my previous post. If my post
>sounded like the new B is much improved over the old...no.  The new plate
>corrects minor inconsistancies or deffects. Period. If I personally bought a
>new Steinway, I'd prefer the B3 if given the choice.  I guess it depends on
>how synical we are and if we have an ax to grind.
>
>I believe that any company that constantly strives to improve, is bound to
>waver at times, i.e. teflon.  I wonder what the % of patents in the last 50
>years turned out to actually improve their piano vs hurt. With technology,
>etc, changing, I'd prefer that they continued to try to improve rather than
>sit on what was proven decades ago just because that's how it "was" done.
>
>I welcome other tech's experiences with these B's and whether there is any
>significant difference.
>
>Lance Lafargue, RPT
>Mandeville, LA
>New Orleans Chapter
>
>
>> is much improved over the older one.
>
>Now how do you know this?  We have seen many Steinway "improvements"
>in the past that were less than such.  If you have technical
>information to share I would love to know about it.
>
>  Newton
>
>
>Lance Lafargue wrote:
>>
>> I just know that it was redesigned recently to correct small deffects,
>> strike point being one.  The new one has a 3 on the tail of the plate and
>is
>> much improved over the older one.
>>
>> Lance Lafargue, RPT
>> Mandeville, LA
>> New Orleans Chapter
>
>