I guess I'm one of the seeming minority that actually likes 1098's, so I'll explain why. I'll start with a caveat--my bias. 75% of my working time is, and has been for a couple of decades, devoted to Steinway pianos. So I know them very much better than most other brands. I do happen to think that I know fairly well how to bring them to their best selves, particularly in tonal matters. I can't really say the same with other brands. So I may be a bit guilty of comparing other pianos not at their best with Steinway at its best. The comparison in reverse is just as unfair--if any piano is neglected long enough, then a new brand X will seem better. IMHO, what sets Steinway just a little apart is its range. Color and dynamic. Very big. And the 1098 can have a lot of that musical range. This is, I think, what draws the musicians to these pianos so consistently. This becomes more apparent as the pianos all age--the 50-year-old Steinway beater is usually a lot more fun to play than a 50-year-old beater of brand X. So if you're in the situation that we're in here, where the uprights are pretty near the bottom of the priority list, the advantages of the "fun-to-play-when-badly-beaten- up" piano should appeal to you. It is well to understand that Steinway has done some substantial work on the 1098. Less than 10 years ago--maybe 5 now?? I know, for example, that they stopped using 2-5/8" tuning pins in favor of the same 2-1/2" ones that all the grands use. They have also looked very carefully at the scale, v-bar, pressure bars, and upper string rests. The latter is no longer cast into the plate--just a piece of felt. Alignment issues seem much better, also-- strings used to touch pressure bar screws and legs regularly. Fun for tuning! But much better today. The very small window of acceptability for the shape of the tuning remains--it's part of the musical character. And the tuning will not be stable until the pins are in EXACTLY the right position. Very demanding of tuning technique. But then exceptionally stable. So while I'd not go so far as to say they're a pleasure to tune, they are much better. And I find them a remarkable pleasure to play. Fast is something I've never managed with tuning them. But I've found that the reward for extra effort in tuning is that they are amazingly stable. I have a couple that I visit every 3 or 4 years, and I'm almost embarrassed to collect my fee. (I do live and work in Seattle!) If we had the happy opportunity to have a donor make us an "all-Steinway" school (up to 10% other brands OK), I'd definitely be looking at the 1098's. And planning for Dampp-Chaser dehumidifiers and back covers for all of them. And for arranging to tune only one (maybe 2) in a given day. I'll end with another caveat. I do not, myself, have the institutional experience with a bunch of 1098's vs a bunch of anything else. I have regulated several, with quite satisfying results. I have even dropped a new action into an older Steinway X (precursor to the K) with very good results. In 2006 I requested prices for a new 1098 action from Steinway, and came up to around $2000 my cost for all the parts. I was guessing around 25 hours of work. But that job never went through. I just know it's actually reasonable and satisfying. If the uprights ever reach that priority. Doug Wood On Dec 3, 2008, at 6:53 AM, Christopher Purdy wrote: > I've been reading all the posts about CCM's decision to become an > all Steinway school. We here at OU have also begun this process > and eventually we will have to make some decisions on uprights. > > I'm curious about everyone's experiences with the 1098's. We all > gripe about them but I am really interested to hear your > individual, specific complaints about them. Especially as used in > a college or university setting. Also, I'd like to hear from > anyone that likes them and why. I would like to collect some solid > opinions from as many people as possible to keep and be able to > present to faculty and administration. > > Thanks, > > Chris > > > Christopher D. Purdy R.P.T. > Registered Piano Technician > School of Music, Ohio University > Rm. 311, Robt. Glidden Hall > Athens, OH 45701 > Office (740) 593-1656 > Cell (740) 590-3842 > fax (740) 593-1429 > http://www.ohiou.edu/music > > Doug Wood School of Music University of Washington -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: <http://ptg.org/pipermail/caut_ptg.org/attachments/20081203/29146ea1/attachment-0001.html>
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