Robin Stevens wrote: > Hi List > Thanks for your replies,..snip snip > > In Australia we only receive Steinways from Hamburg which the German > Steinway Techs who visit this country are of a opinion they are of a higher > standard than the American counterparts (The Steinway tech said it, not me) Grin..Where have I heard that before ?? and the opposite viewpoint as well ??? > > I was fortunate to attend with 2 other tuners a workshop of a week duration > with the Hamburg Steinway Senior technician in 1997 > Steinway regulations and adjustments are SET IN CONCRETE in the eyes of > these techs, and if followed to the enth degree will produce a extremely easy > to play > Piano.and any deviation from these specs will only upset the overall balance > of the action.(wear and tear taken into account) Odd.... I have regular contact with the Steinway representative here in Norway. He is Steinway factory trained (4 years working there) He has the take that most techs seem to have, namely that of specs being guidelines. I personally get the impression that some Steinway reps dont really "trust" field techs to really understand actions enough... so they just drop the "stick to our specs like they were Gods words etched in platinum" line. Yamaha takes another approach to those who may not have a deeper understanding of actions, and I personally believe this is one of many reasons they have taken so hugh bites out of the market through the years. They know how to make friends and allies better... grin.. Another point to be made is that in reality Steinway specs are not so closely adhered to at the factory as these two fellows would have you believe. I have observed on more then one occasion brand new grands from Hamburg in Oslo which vary in one way or another quite a bit. I think you would find if you applied a bit of David Stanwood type scrutiny to any given set of 10 Hamburg Steinways you might be a bit suprised at your results. > > If the Aussie Tuner checks all the regulation settings he will probably find > adjustments to be made in the repetition spring strength or the let off > drop adjustment....tight centre pins etc. Perhaps... perhaps not. > > I would say that as the Steinway B only has a Key weight of 46-51 grams the > piano player in question has only just changed to this piano after spending > a lot of time on a piano with a heavier key weight. Certainly a good point to make to the customer. > > My main point was that it is very easy to be bullied around by the "Boss who > pays".... and after 40 years in this trade I find that if I listen very > carefully to the customers complaint and, if it is a valid fault I will do > my upmost to correct the problem but if in MY OPINION there is nothing wrong > they are told politely. Hmmm.. I wonder what you would have said to Vladimir... grin. My point is that if the customer wants certain specifications concerning weight, how much aftertouch to feel, or how much damper bump to feel for that matter, then our job is to provide that, within the basic parameters of what can work for a given piano. Who the heck am I to dictate to a player what he should or should not like. On the other hand I understand your basic warning against getting involved with the kinda person who simply is never satisfied and blames his / her own lack of technical ability on the instrument. Those kinda folks are certainly out there. Generally tho, its easy enough to identify such a person and back out of the situation diplomatically. But this is a different thing entirely. I fail to see given the queries post that one can conclude that his customer is of this sort. > In my younger days these (wish they weres) drove me mad chasing funny sounds.. > strange notes etc. I believe that if you are completely happy with you > prognosis then stick to your guns and not be intimidated. The Steinway B Model > here in Australia sells for around Aus $115,000 and is far from a mass > produced product which needs ..."tuning up to the drivers needs"... even after > 10 years (slight voicing modifications accepted) My Summary of this problem > would be to get back to the original specifications EXACTLY and do not try and > reinvent the wheel. Only problem is that in many cases this is simply not possible / feasable. Simple example ... hammers worn so much that filing removes 2mm from the origional length... customer not willing to put out 5000 big ones for a new set complete with shanks etc.. You simply gotta be able to meet the customers needs as far as within the scope of whats possible to make function well. This is half the fun of our work really. All due respect for Steinways very excellent technicians. But there is more then one way of baking an excellent kangaroo pie. > I have owned a 1936 Model B for the last 10 years and it is a joy to play at > the end of a hard days work tuning the average (rubbish) piano out in the real > world. Hope I have not stirred the pot too much. Lucky guy... might be nice.. even those old ones often enough sound great.. thats what I like most about Steinways.. they do better over time then over most anything around. > > Best regards > Robin Stevens (Drinks strong coffee Aussie) We probly dont really disagree much at all me thinks.. grin -- Richard Brekne Associate PTG, N.P.T.F. Bergen, Norway
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