All
Sorry to be a little behind this thread as I am away doing concert prep and
recording... 4 hours away from home and in a rural setting with limited
internet.
I have known Paul Knight since the first day of his apprenticeship. My first
comment to his master was that he would become an extremely good technician.
Well he is and Steinway Hamburg is very impressed with him. I have been to
Kawai and Schimmel factories and would trade them all in for training in
Hamburg!
I have to take some blame in his comment about being attacked if his ideas
being different to most on this list. Paul has read this list on my laptop
since December and he read my first posts. The comments to me were
insulting, treated me like an idiot and another told me to join the PTG and
read the Journal so that I might learn something. I challenged the list to
look outside of their comfort zone and listen to someone else or to look at
information I supplied from numerous teaching colleges and factories. There
was no reply. Then there was the Hamburg D from Florida that was recommended
to be rebuilt in Germany, but not at Steinway. I still don't understand why.
But that is in the past and we all have moved on. I notice that many
subjects on this list get carried away on a tangent and end up completely
different from the original question..like it is now!
Back to the original question by Danny of Belgium.(he has been quite
since, so is he a tech ?) Does his customer purchase a new Fazioli 212 or a
new S&S model B. Most replies about S&S was about the New York instrument
and the killer octave, bridges etc. The comment about ok 2 octaves and noisy
3 and 4 octaves in a Hamburg B is new to me. I find the tuning to fit in
with the math and I find the B's and D's to be SO easy to tune. Someone
made a comment that the Fazioli's sounded a little thin in recordings and
others commented how well they are made. The most intelligent answer was
that they were great pianos and the customer should purchase the one he/she
preferred.
So then another part of this thread occurred when the reply was "purchase a
Steingraber". What does this have to do with the original question? That is
like my wife asking me if I wanted chicken or lamb for dinner and I reply
that I want beef. Then I ask why she is not happy with me.. <G>
I work on numerous Hamburg Steinways, a few S&S NY, 1 212 Fazioli that is
just about worn out that is breaking strings and needs an action rebuild. I
have not seen a Steingraber however Paul and I have listened to my cd's of
the 272, and I have discussed this piano with the pianist on the cd. He
described characteristics of the piano and how he used this piano for
certain music. I also had a long conversation with this pianist in what
sounds he was looking for in each style of music or composer. I know many
techs disagree with this idea.
Wayne Stuart also has a certain sound he is looking for and I for one have
seen numerous Stuarts and attended numerous concerts, own cd's talked to the
pianist and most importantly discussed the piano and its goals with Wayne
personally. The comment about Wayne Stuart fighting with Steinway is so far
off the mark. It was created by piano tuner gossip... and Wayne let it
run.... and I think it created so much free advertising for Stuart. Why do
Steinway have the top end market..... well it is what the pianist musically
wants. I also know that in a lot of contracts, the pianist will have a line
in the contract asking for a Steinway model D and now they are starting to
ask for under a certain age.
I describe the Steingraber part of this thread to be off topic. However if
you are discussing other brands, I think you should include Bechstein,
Bosendorfer, Bluthner, Schimmel, Grotrian Steinweg, Yamaha S series, Shigeru
Kawai, Stuart and Sons and probably a lot more. I am trying to be
politically correct. A Master Piano Builder told me that I should look at
the new Bechsteins and Bluthners as the new designs were worth looking at.
All of these pianos are designed differently, with different scales, timbers
etc etc. you all know that. The most important part to me as a technician
are the hammers. Steinway use Renner by choice and Fazioli use Abel. They
are also voiced so differently. Most technicians do not understand the
voicing techniques used by Hamburg. Some one wrote on this list a few weeks
ago that a certain type of hammer was just too hard for a Steinway.... try a
new Hamburg hammer and see how hard it is..and one technician once told me
that it was too much work voicing Steinway hammers.
I too have gone off topic, and need to address the question. Steinway B or
Fazioli 212? My opinion has the same importance as anyone else. Not much
really. I would prefer to work on a Steinway than a Fazioli. I agree with
Paul and the dynamic range. I call it changes of volume and the different
colours of sounds available. Most pianists would probably buy Steinway and
then we have the others who will look at other brands. However this customer
is thinking of spending 70,000 Euros on a piano and that is a lot of money
in any language. Advise the customer that they are wonderful instruments and
he/she should purchase the one they like. Travelling to either Italy or
Germany (especially from Belgium) to select a piano is highly recommended.
And if the customer comes home with a Pearl River 140cm, and the customer is
pleased with their purchase, we have no right to give our opinion.
You all may be having morning coffee... but it's 1am here!
Regards
Brian Wilson
-----Original Message-----
From: pianotech-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces at ptg.org] On Behalf
Of William Truitt
Sent: Saturday, 20 June 2009 7:55 PM
To: kps24 at optusnet.com.au; pianotech at ptg.org
Subject: Re: [pianotech] Fazioli
Dear Paul:
Please do stick around, and continue to share your opinions. By the way, I
do have quite a few others disagree with me when I share my opinions and
experiences. For me, that is part of the pleasure of this forum. I have a
degree in philosophy, I was taught how to argue formally (which means well
reasoned discourse), and I can't help myself. It's part of how I learn, and
I enjoy it. Sometimes my thinking is muddy, sometimes it is just plain
wrong, and sometimes I am right. I never lack for others and their
opinions, reasons, and facts when they agree, disagree, or just set me
straight. This forum is a great wealth of knowledge, and a place to enrich
my own. I hope you can see it as such and enjoy its benefits.
I meant you no offense, Paul. I was calling you on voicing an opinion on a
piano you did not know, nothing more. (We've already had that discussion,
so let's let that be and move forward from here).
Respectfully yours as I sip my morning coffee,
Will
-----Original Message-----
From: pianotech-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces at ptg.org] On Behalf
Of Paul Knight
Sent: Saturday, June 20, 2009 1:24 AM
To: pianotech at ptg.org
Subject: [pianotech] Fazioli
Thanks Joe appriciate your comments. Well recieved. I dont mind differance
of opinion. The diversity is good. I will be sticking around. Happy to help
in areas if I can. My opinions may be strong but I can back them up. They
are not without Reason.
regards
Paul Knight
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