This is a multi-part message in MIME format. ---------------------- multipart/alternative attachment Okay, let's give you guys some more information (no don't have 88 SWs = yet, just a little history). First, I am actually the customer, not a technician. If I knew then = what I know now would I buy this piano -- probably not. =20 So problem #1 is simply ignorance. Probably true for most customers. = I, probably like most people (piano techs excluded),=20 do not expect to have significant issues with such an instrument. Keep in mind that Steinway pianos are not bought from the factory, they = are bought from dealers. Some dealers are better than others. =20 I had a choice of three L's locally, none of which were prepped (we're = talking ZERO prep aside from tuning). One could not be played because = it still had the packing material in the keyboard (they took it out while I = was in the store). Shocked? Welcome to reality. The piano was chosen mainly on the basis of sound, not touch. This = again is probably true for many customers, particularly musicians (a Steinway with lousy touch still sounds better than most of the other = stuff out there, unless you want to shell out even more money). =20 I do not have any beefs with the sound. The main reason for wanting to lighten the action is that my wife is 90 = lbs and has some arthritis. I can play it without problems, she is in pain. To generalize, it is probably more difficult to make a piano = right for multiple people. A while after we bought the piano, the dealer hired a good technician. = On a trip to the store, it was obvious that every single Steinway in the store was significantly nicer to play touchwise than ours. So we = paid him to come out and do a day's work on ours. Big improvement, but still doesn't change the basic weight/leverage setup issues. We also took a piano window shopping trip to New York which was a real = eye opener. It revealed a few things, the most important of which are 1) don't buy it if it's not right IN THE STORE. It is possible, and = there's really no excuse. 2) there's other good stuff out there (e.g. Faust and Harrison rebuilds, = used Bosendorfers etc). BTW, I don't buy the argument that because I bought it I have to leave = it alone. Well, that should give you guys some things to talk about :) -Mark As Ed and Ric said, action making is an art, and all pianos should be = prepped. But more important, and this is what I asked about before, is = given that each action is different, the player needs to pick out the = piano he/she likes. If, after a couple of years, the player complains = about the action, we need to ask, "Is it any different from when you = first got the piano?" Actions are kind of like a pair of shoes. If they = don't fit and feel good when you first put them on, you can't "wear them = in." With an action, there is not going to be much difference in the way = it feels in the first couple of years, unless there is something wrong. = But I don't think we should try to do some wholesale changes to an = action that wasn't put there in the first place. Because when you change = one thing adjustment, it has an effect on the other adjustments.=20 This is why artists try out all the pianos in Steinway Hall to pick = out the one they like the best. When we bought our B and D, the chair of = our department, who is also a concert pianist, went to NY to pick out = the piano he liked best. When I sold pianos, and when I advice people on = buying pianos, I tell them to lookt for three things in a piano, how = does it look, how does it sound and how does it feel. If any one of = those three is not right, look for another piano.=20 In other words, with regard to the customer who complained about the = heavy action on a 3 or 4 year old Steinway, the first thing we need to = ask is, "Is this what you bought?" If it is, there isn't much we can do = to change it.=20 Wim=20 ---------------------- multipart/alternative attachment An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: https://www.moypiano.com/ptg/pianotech.php/attachments/3d/0b/39/85/attachment.htm ---------------------- multipart/alternative attachment--
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