[pianotech] Was Steinway bashing... Best of the best??

[Ron Nossaman]

William Monroe wrote:
> Will,
>  
> I'm not Al, but I also played the Steingraeber with the CF soundboard, 
> and Phoenix bridge agraffe system.  The fellow in the booth told me 
> there was zero downbearing on the system.  That it wasn't neccessary by 
> virtue of the agraffe system.  

Concept alert! It's not the agraffe system that negates the 
need for downbearing, it's that the board is stiff enough 
without it, to not need it. The agraffe system adds 
significant mass to the system, which would enhance sustain.


Pretty cool.  The CF soundboard is VERY
> thin.  It has the appearance of CF on top and has a spruce veneer on the 
> underside, and the CF with the spruce veneer was probably on the order 
> of 1/8" thick or less.
>  
> Sound?  Well, it sounds like a piano.  ;-]  I didn't find that I could 
> attribute any specific sound quality to the board itself.  Too many 
> other variables, among other things, but the piano sounded very nice.  
> Full, round tone, not a lot of high partial noise.  Though, it was a 
> little bit of a challenge to listen in the exhibit hall.  ;-]
>  
> I certainly couldn't find any reason not to like it out of hand, though.

Me either. It sounded very clean and clear to me. This would 
be the one in Grand Rapids I listened to last year. I liked it 
just fine.
Ron N