Ah Terry... you touch upon the crux of the problem at hand. How to meet both your stated goals and still be a big time player in the piano manufacturing arena. You have a fickle audience mind you, one that on some level more or less knows what it likes, yet is moved by the forces of the mystic as well. If you have a success... you go with it. Basic business. On the other hand you cant possibly have a real big time long standing hit unless something is very right about it. That doesnt mean that another approach to instrument building is not valid. Nor does it mean that something <<better>> can come along. But <<better>> to begin with begs a definition, and I'll argue that the only practical definition that applies is the one the public represents. All our own technical mumberings are of no consequence in the end if the public doesnt buy it... yes ? Its like I've said a hundred times. The local tech, the two man rebuilding shop... the small time operation... all have luxuries that a manufacturer does not have. We can use more time per unit, experiment with designs, be more consistent.. etc etc etc... because we dont have a whole darn company to run, not to mention lose. So yeah.. each major manufacturer tries to balance <<the best possible product>> with what they think the market will buy, with what part of the market they want to appeal to. Personally, given market realities... I think we should all give the more serious players a bit more of a break. They have to sell.... or go broke. That means they have to play the sales game... and it is not always a nice thing to watch... but there you have it. All our commentary will not alter that picture. Its going to be realllll interesting to see Overs and Stuart develop over the years. You reach a certain point in production and you have to either opt for relative anonymity or get in the tub with the rest of the salesmen. What will they choose ??? Its real seductive to get into the game if you have the chance. Cheers RicB ------------ RicB wrote: "Seems to me the measure of how "good" a product is basically boils down to what degree the product is true to the design and intentions of the builder." Towhit Terry Farrell repliks: Indeed. And that begs the question - what is the intention of the builder? Is it to build the highest performance piano, or is it to build the piano that will sell the best? At least among better manufacturers, I suspect it is a combination of the two - but where along that continuum are their intentions? And you can't tell me that any publicly owned manufacturer isn't going to have a pretty heavy dose of the sell intention! It's like - by definition! Terry Farrell
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