Mason & Hamlin AA scale

[Farrell]

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I think we also tend to forget that major piano manufacturers are =
factories that produce a product and they try to sell as many of them =
that they can. Not unlike automobiles. There are some, perhaps like =
Yamaha and Kawai that target a very wide swath of the piano consuming =
public - much like Ford, GM and Toyota. And there are others such as =
Bosendorfer, Fazioli and Mason and Hamlin that target a narrow segment =
of the piano buying public - much like Ferrari and Lamborghini.

Now if the average piano-playing Joe on the street has some money and =
wants a great piano, he might go and buy a Bosendorfer or a Fazioli. If =
Joe wants a fast car he might go buy a Ferrari or a Lamborghini. But if =
Joe is a professional race car driver - or even a serious amateur race =
car driver, where does he go for a really fast car? Well, he might buy =
that Corvette of Ferrari, but he takes it right over to his favorite =
hi-performance race car mechanic who strips the car down, does a bunch =
of modifications and rebuilds it so that it is really fast. Recently I =
read an article in Road & Track about buying a new $200K Ferrari and =
doing just that to it - taking it all apart and improving the =
suspension, the drive train, the engine, etc. Even makers of super =
high-performance automobiles such as Ferrari and Lamborghini make many =
concessions in the design and construction of their cars to appeal to a =
target swath of the public. They simply cannot build the fastest car =
possible and stay in business - they would only sell a couple dozen of =
them.

Any serious race car enthusiast knows perfectly well that if you want to =
win a race, you will not do it in a car straight from any factory.

What makes pianos any different?

I suspect we should stop belly-aching about why don't piano =
manufacturers build better pianos - I think that is just part of how it =
is and will always be. I think we should rejoice that we can do things =
that a factory simply cannot do.=20

I respect Henry Ford for his inventions and ingenuity, but I'm also glad =
those that followed him in the automobile industry realized his product =
could be improved upon. I have all the respect in the world for the =
1890s designers at Steinway, Mason and Hamlin, Bosendorfer, etc., but I =
still don't see how that should keep us from building a better piano.

Terry Farrell

  >>Just to give an alternative viewpoint, no hard feelings :)

  <snip>

  I've read through many postings on this list from Del and a somewhat =
lesser amount of postings from Ron O. (and some excellent rebuttals!), =
and I have no doubt they are both skilled and deserve respect. But I =
think those at Steinway, Mason and Hamlin, Bosendorfer, etc., deserve at =
least as much respect.

  - John
  <<<


  =20

  What's being left out of the discussion on why it is hard to implement =
changes in piano design is how pianos are marketed and sold. Pianos are =
sold by piano salesmen, most of whom know very little about pianos, but =
they can parrot selling features. They are sold to a customer who =
usually has even less knowledge of pianos, most of whom have no idea on =
what a good piano sounds like, a customer who has probably played less =
than a dozen pianos in his entire life.  In such a climate, name =
recognition, perceived reputation and mystique reign supreme. =
Innovations are ridiculed as unproven.

  =20

  Dean

  =20

  Dean May             cell 812.239.3359

  PianoRebuilders.com   812.235.5272

  Terre Haute IN  47802

  =20

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