Reply to: RE>Fortepiano purchase Bill, The pianos that I've had experience with here at Oberlin are ones made by Rod Regier (in Maine), Richard Hester (upstate New York), the Wolfs (Tom and Barbara -in Washington D.C.). I can heartily recommend anything by these builders - all are consummate perfectionists, enthusiastic communicators and always willing to help out with advice and technical help to the technician. All make beautiful looking instruments that sound great. It's a matter of deciding what style you want, and they can help you figure that out. Phil Belt has made many wonderful instruments in past years (including one we have here owned by a faculty member) although I don't know if he's currently in production (I do know that he's living in Indiana again). I'm sure that you'll eventually reach the point where you enjoy tuning the instruments as well! They're actually much less physically stressful, and quicker and easier. It makes more sense to try out different temperaments on them (because they're easier to tune) but also of course they are less stable and more sensitive to environmental changes. By the way, Margaret Hood (another builder, whose pianos I haven't seen) offers a very good manual for fortepiano maintenance if you're interested. 40 pages, $20. Let me know if you're interested and I can give you her address. There may be other good builders that others have had experience with that they can report on. If you have any questions feel free to e-mail me privately. regards, Allen Wright allen.wright.oberlin.edu
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