---------------------- multipart/alternative attachment Hi Terry (and Dean), I think with these issues we need to tread humbly, that's the key. I=20 personally am not convinced that piano design is anymore unnecessarily=20= stagnant than, say, flute design (random choice to make a point, I know=20= nothing about flute design), but I don't want to let that get in the=20 way of being open to possible improvements. The opposing viewpoint=20 should have the same tone. I do question whether certain changes in piano design would result in=20 rejection from the public. One that comes to mind is the bflat break=20 I've read Del and Ron O. complaining about. Most people won't notice=20 on their own, and I think Steinway is respectable enough to survive any=20= initial criticism. I feel compelled to write of my own absurdly limited thought on the=20 bflat break on the bass bridge. I have the L and I like the sound. It's=20= quite a smooth transition from the bass to the treble, more so than=20 even a Baldwin SD10, SF10 and Steinway B, all of which don't break on=20 the bflat. Of course it could just be my piano in particular :) - John > I think we also tend to forget that major piano manufacturers are=20 > factories that produce a product and they try to sell as many of them=20= > that they can. Not unlike automobiles. There are some, perhaps like=20 > Yamaha and Kawai that target a very wide swath of the piano consuming=20= > public - much like Ford, GM and Toyota. And there are others such as=20= > Bosendorfer, Fazioli and Mason and Hamlin that target a narrow segment=20= > of the piano buying public - much like Ferrari and Lamborghini. > =A0 > Now if the average piano-playing Joe on the street has some money=20 > and=A0wants a great piano, he might go and buy a Bosendorfer or a=20 > Fazioli. If Joe wants a fast car he might go buy a Ferrari or a=20 > Lamborghini. But if Joe is a professional race car driver - or even a=20= > serious amateur race car driver, where does he go for a really fast=20 > car? Well, he might buy that Corvette of Ferrari, but he takes it=20 > right over to his favorite hi-performance race car mechanic who strips=20= > the car down, does a bunch of modifications=A0and rebuilds it so that = it=20 > is really fast. Recently I read an article in Road & Track about=20 > buying a new $200K Ferrari and doing just that to it - taking it all=20= > apart and improving the suspension, the drive train, the engine, etc.=20= > Even makers of super high-performance automobiles such as Ferrari and=20= > Lamborghini make many concessions in the design and construction of=20 > their cars to appeal to a target swath of the public. They simply=20 > cannot build the fastest car possible and stay in business - they=20 > would only sell a couple dozen of them. > =A0 > Any serious race car enthusiast knows perfectly well that if you want=20= > to win a race, you will not do it in a car straight from=A0any = factory. > =A0 > What makes pianos any different? > =A0 > I suspect we should stop belly-aching about why don't piano=20 > manufacturers build better pianos - I think that is just part of how=20= > it is and will always be. I think we should rejoice that we can do=20 > things that a factory simply cannot do. > =A0 > I respect Henry Ford for his inventions and ingenuity, but I'm also=20 > glad those that followed him in the automobile industry realized his=20= > product could be improved upon. I have all the respect in the world=20 > for the 1890s designers at Steinway, Mason and Hamlin, Bosendorfer,=20 > etc., but I still don't see how that should keep us from building a=20 > better piano. > =A0 > Terry Farrell > =A0 > > What=92s being left out of the discussion on why it is hard to = implement=20 > changes in piano design is how pianos are marketed and sold. Pianos=20 > are sold by piano salesmen, most of whom know very little about=20 > pianos, but they can parrot selling features. They are sold to a=20 > customer who usually has even less knowledge of pianos, most of whom=20= > have no idea on what a good piano sounds like, a customer who has=20 > probably played less than a dozen pianos in his entire life. =A0In = such=20 > a climate, name recognition, perceived reputation and mystique reign=20= > supreme. Innovations are ridiculed as unproven. > =A0 > > Dean May=A0=A0=A0=A0 =A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0cell 812.239.3359=20= ---------------------- multipart/alternative attachment A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: not available Type: text/enriched Size: 5134 bytes Desc: not available Url : https://www.moypiano.com/ptg/pianotech.php/attachments/73/4c/6b/ed/attachment.bin ---------------------- multipart/alternative attachment--
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