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Bravo, Don. No matter what anyone else says!!!! ;-)
Avery
At 12:51 PM 2/14/04, you wrote:
>Isaac,
>
>You are entitled to your opinions, but really, what you state is really a=
=20
>lot of crazy talk. Perhaps this is partially caused by your having to=20
>post to this list in your second language - it is understandable that your=
=20
>writing would not be as clear and carefully phrased as it should be.
>
>Those who have been to my seminars know that I do not hold back in=20
>criticizing Kawai pianos in those areas where I am aware of faults. If I=
=20
>knew of the problems you have described, I would not bother to write and=20
>argue against them - that is not my way, and I value my personal integrity=
=20
>too much to do so.
>
>That said, the problems you have described regarding bushings and ABS=20
>parts having sharp edges do not make sense, and in my 8 years as technical=
=20
>support manager for Kawai in North America not once have I ever heard of=20
>or experienced myself any sharp edges or burrs on ABS repetition=20
>levers. These are the kinds of non-factually based criticisms that=20
>usually come from those who work with competing dealerships, or for one=20
>reason or another are predisposed to dislike this brand of pianos.
>
>I have observed that Isaac continually brings up ABS in discussions which=
=20
>are not related to the topic. It would seem that this is an effort on his=
=20
>part to:
>a. Discredit Kawai in general
>b. Draw me into an argument
>c. Tout his technical superiority over the rest of the world's technicians
>
>The original topic of the thread was about Kawai's new adjustable touch=20
>action in upright pianos, and Isaac launches into an epistle of diatribes=
=20
>against Kawai. He never gives indication with his signature stating why=20
>he might be biased against Kawai, but the content is very consistent. Why=
=20
>is this?
>
>In reading many of Isaac's posts, letter C (above) seems to be the most=20
>common goal, and as such I usually don't feel the posts are worth=20
>responding to. In this case, letter A seems to be more the purpose, so I=
=20
>felt I should respond.
>
>With this preamble completed, I would like to comment specifically on of=20
>Isaac's Kawai-bashing statements:
>
>"defects due to the molding process leaving sharp edges at the roller=
window"
>
>Wood parts regularly have milling defects at the jack window. On brand=20
>new Renner and Steinway parts I have had to scrape this edge with a razor=
=20
>knife (a much better solution than sanding, by the way) to eliminate=20
>artifacts of the milling process. I have never, in the literally tens of=
=20
>thousands of ABS parts I have worked on, seen any burrs or sharp edges=20
>here. If Isaac really did find some kind of molding artifact in a=20
>repetition lever, this would be a very rare and surprising item - it=20
>should be treated as a fluke, repaired, and not turned into an argument=20
>against ABS parts.
>
>"I stand my point that Kawai never understood piano touch enough they have=
=20
>always been a tad unresponsive that is frustrating for players and techs=20
>as the instruments could be more musical if so."
>
>For one who apparently has no knowledge of the Kawai R&D department, and=20
>seems to not be aware of the very common selection of Kawai pianos by=20
>competitors at piano competitions, this statement of Isaac's shows only=20
>ignorance. Isaac, have you ever met one of Kawai's concert technicians=20
>who supposedly (in your terms) do not understand piano touch? These are=20
>the people who finish off the EX concert grands and the Shigeru Kawai=20
>pianos. Every one of them spent 2 years in Europe during their training,=
=20
>and I am very confident that their r=E9sum=E9s would embarrass most piano=
=20
>tuners in the world. They work intimately with the highest caliber of=20
>pianists and with Kawai's rather extensive R&D department, and to say that=
=20
>Kawai doesn't understand proper piano touch really is a personal insult to=
=20
>these very fine technicians.
>
>As to the results of Kawai's labors, we regularly survey buyers and=20
>potential buyers of the Shigeru Kawai pianos, and the following are the=20
>most common types of comments about these pianos:
>"Wonderful singing tone, very expressive"
>"Incredibly sensitive action, it will do anything I ask of it."
>Now I know that these kinds of solicited comments are not to be taken=20
>overly seriously, but my point is that we do not get complaints that the=20
>Shigeru Kawai actions are unresponsive.
>
>"as soon as you install better front punching"
>
>Here you are throwing another arcane and unclear criticism in without=20
>being concise. Kawai knows exactly what it is doing with the front=20
>punching firmness - as a classical pianist myself, I very strongly dislike=
=20
>the feeling of overly hard front punchings. Here you are simply stating a=
=20
>personal preference as a fact of inferiority. If you do not like Kawai's=
=20
>punching hardness, can you conceive of the concept that others do like=20
>them? Even others of excellent ability, skill and knowledge?
>
>Here, I will restate this in your style of writing: Hard front rail=20
>punchings are a definite sign of inferiority in the piano and should be=20
>changed to a higher quality, more forgiving cloth. The thumpy,=20
>unforgiving end to the keystroke makes the piano tone percussive, weakens=
=20
>projection, and damages the tendons of the pianist over time. Any=20
>technician who prefers hard punchings needs to change careers, as he or=20
>she is obviously not sensitive to musicality in the instrument.
>
>{To all other readers besides our Gallic fiend please note - the above=20
>paragraph was parody, not my actual opinion! ;-) }
>
>"It can be a psychological impression, but as yet those action with=20
>aluminum rails have something in the tone I don't like the most"
>
>I can unequivocally confirm to you, this is a psychological problem. The=
=20
>Kawai rail has been extremely well researched and designed, with a=20
>combination of very strong vertical beams, serrated surface with rubber=20
>strip to assist with stable part spacing and alignment, and a wood letoff=
=20
>button rail inserted underneath.
>
>I can tell you, though, there are some definite 'advantages' of a wood=20
>rail over Kawai's aluminum rail:
>1. Much more energy is lost in fortissimo playing with wood rails due to=20
>flex and vibration, especially in the bass area. This has the benefit of=
=20
>keeping the piano from being too loud, and keeps some of the pianist's=20
>energy from making loud noises and offending any nearby listeners.
>2. When the wood vibrates in reaction to the hammer striking the string,=20
>there is a pleasing "knock" added to the tone of the piano.
>3. Action parts to not stay screwed down tight nearly as long in wood=20
>rails. This provides the piano technicians with a stable source of =
income.
>4. Sandpaper on top of the wood rail enhances the quality of tone, giving=
=20
>it that gritty, papery quality we all love. Any technician who cannot=20
>hear this is most assuredly in the wrong business - it is obvious! ;-)
>
>"I am unsure it is really the case, Kawai is not synonym of very good=20
>cloth and felts to
>me, for some reason (see the Boston hammers)"
>
>And you should remain unsure, dear fiend, as this is another bunch of=20
>nonsense.
>
>Let me first say that Boston pianos are made to Steinway Specifications,=20
>and any criticisms of those instruments should be aimed at Steinway. If=20
>Steinway wanted the factory in Japan to change the hammer felts, then=20
>Kawai would do so.
>
>There is no company making pianos today who does not occasionally have a=20
>piano needing service to the action centers, Kawai included. Making=20
>reliable, firm action centers is one of the most difficult parts of piano=
=20
>making. The parts must work in tropical climates as well as arctic ones,=
=20
>and the manufacturer must try to fit the pins in the bushing for the=20
>widest level of reliability. This means that the tone under dry=20
>conditions will not be ideal, as the pins will be on the edge of being too=
=20
>loose. This need to fit the action centers for reliable operation in all=
=20
>climates is not a reflection of cloth quality or the surrounding material,=
=20
>as the requirement holds just as true for Kawai grand hammer shanks (wood=
=20
>material) as it does for our wippen flanges (ABS). In other words, the=20
>behavior of the different action centers within the exact same piano in=20
>the exact same conditions with the same cloth and different surrounding=20
>materials (wood vs ABS) is essentially the same. There is no better=20
>evidence than this of the fallacy of this old argument regarding wood=20
>parts giving a better fit with the bushing and pin.
>
>I would encourage everyone to take note of Yamaha's grand hammer flanges,=
=20
>in which they apply a cross lamination to the wood were the bushings are=20
>glued in. Guess what? This stabilizes the wood, reducing the potential=20
>for the hole to change shape from humidity changes. Kind of like plastic,=
hmm?
>
>I should say that I am also guilty of this same argument in the past. I=20
>once stated in my seminar on action centers that the wood parts must give=
=20
>a more consistent fit, but after testing the idea carefully and actually=20
>working with direct comparisons of wood and ABS parts, I found that I was=
=20
>wrong. Perhaps Isaac will someday learn his error as well.
>
>"(and I really hear the plastic "thump" of the damper levers as something=
=20
>not in its place in a piano)."
>
>It is amazing to me how a lack of understanding makes people say such=20
>wrong things. If we made an ABS soundboard, everyone would rightly=20
>criticize it for being dead, not making any tone. ABS is a very inert,=20
>quiet material which dissipates vibrational energy. It cannot possibly=20
>add to the thump of the dampers! But inexperienced people hear a noise in=
=20
>a piano, and instead of investigating the cause of the noise they see the=
=20
>ABS and say - "Ah, that's it - cheap plastic" or something similar.
>
>I used to keep track of the number of 'tooners' who would call me at Kawai=
=20
>and say something like "This action is clicking because of the plastic=20
>parts - you know, Steinway had this same problem with plastic (Teflon)=20
>bushings and they stopped making them!" When I heard this I would add=20
>another hatch mark to a certain notebook cover, and patiently explain yet=
=20
>again that these actions have normal cloth bushings of a very high=20
>quality, and the technician might want to check again for the source of=20
>the noise. Usually we end up having to send another technician out, and=20
>it is never in the bushings or the ABS - the most common cause would be=20
>that the hammer heads had come loose on the shanks because of=20
>dryness. The original technician gets the piano owner upset over nothing,=
=20
>and in the end looks like a jackass to all.
>
>"I also noticed it can be noisy , may be the rollers are artificial=20
>leather also (most probably) as for Yamaha, and that makes too much=20
>synthetic on synthetic contact paths ? Yamaha rollers and backchecks are=20
>very good for one - and they are not leather so not all synthetic parts=20
>are equal."
>
>Yamaha and Kawai (and some other piano makers) buy the artificial buckskin=
=20
>from the same supplier in Japan. The advantages are that it has much=20
>better cushioning to reduce action noise, and it is very, very consistent=
=20
>in thickness, firmness, and elasticity. Very fine buckskin is more=20
>resistant to squeaking noises, but otherwise has a lot of drawbacks. This=
=20
>comment that it doesn't happen in Yamaha pianos may mean that some kind of=
=20
>Yamaha angels have prevented Isaac from experiencing it, but I have=20
>personally had to apply Teflon powder to Yamaha knuckles (as well as Young=
=20
>Chang and others) to stop the same noise. I recently serviced a very nice=
=20
>Hamburg Steinway B which was squeaking and groaning very badly here. No=
=20
>matter what the materials, knuckles (rollers) can squeak, and Teflon=20
>powder usually solves it.
>
>By the way, a very common source of squeaks in any knuckle material is=20
>human skin oil, from people rubbing them with their fingers.
>
>As to the allusion that ABS wippens are a little too heavy, this is a=20
>valid criticism - although one which produced complaints almost=20
>exclusively from dealers who sell competing products. Although the Kawai=
=20
>action was engineered to perform well with this slight extra mass in the=20
>wippen, Kawai is just now introducing a new carbon strengthened ABS=20
>action, which allows us to bring the mass in the wippen assembly=20
>down. This new action is going to make a bit of a stir in the piano=20
>market, I think.
>
>There is nothing anyone can do to stop someone from posting all sorts of=20
>nonsensical opinions on this mail list. I generally don't respond - I=20
>have learned that it doesn't pay to roll in the mud with pigs, because=20
>they like it too much! In this case I have tried to at least slop out the=
=20
>pig sty a little, but am now going to depart for a quick shower.
>
>Don Mannino RPT
>Kawai America
>
>
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