[pianotech] New stuff at the convention?

[Ed Sutton]

The exhibit hall isn't a great place to evaluate pianos, but it was easy to tell this piano is a valid instrument, and a technology we will see more of in the future. Carbon fiber soundboards are common now in fine classical guitars. The parlor-sized Steingraeber was a powerful instrument. The agraffes require zero downbearing and the soundboard doesn't need crown. How long do you suppose this piano will last? Expect development.

Ed S.
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Mark Purney 
  To: pianotech at ptg.org 
  Sent: Wednesday, July 22, 2009 5:04 PM
  Subject: Re: [pianotech] New stuff at the convention?


  Here are my reasons for all the fuss - I can't speak for anyone else:

  1. More power and better dynamic range is more appealing to the pianist than less power and range.
  2. A piano with greater sustain is more pleasing and enjoyable for the pianist and listener, even if you are not holding notes for long durations. A piano with poor sustain is just a dead piano.
  3. A piano with no bridge pins can't suffer from loose bridge pins, improperly-located pins, or wires that aren't properly seated to the pin and the bevel edge in the bridge cap. With this particular agraffe system, every wire has the same, solid termination and it is not susceptible to changes in humidity.
  4. I hate false beats. 

  Are there any downsides, beyond the fact it will cost more?


  wimblees at aol.com wrote: 
    I'm going to play devil's advocate here. 

    I'm guessing that 98% of the music played on a piano last less than a fraction of a second. 1.9% of the music is held for maybe a second or two. At the end of a piece of music, the final chord might last 3 or 4 seconds. So the only time we would hear the real affect of an agraffe and bridge with the tone lasting 5 or 6 seconds, is once in a great while. So why all the fuss?

    OK, be easy one me.

    Wim



-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://ptg.org/pipermail/pianotech.php/attachments/20090722/ffa6f58e/attachment.htm>