sloaneba at ucmail.uc.edu writes: (umm, most of us sign our posts)
>
> I must unequivocally reject the idea that the Steinway factory is not
> producing Steinways, from the hammer to the belly to the action to the action
> ratio to the etc. The notion that we suggest this in light of what
> rebuilders are doing to Steinways today, is preposterous.
> For the, “Is it a Steinway?” query, the ball must be put squarely in
> the court, of the rebuilders, not the Steinway factory. Kick me out if you
> want, but I want to reassure all of you as someone, again, with experience
> at the first and the last Steinway school in the world. The Steinway
> factory, believe it or not, is still making Steinways, and they are as Steinway
> as Steinway can get.
>
Yes, they are making Steinways, but they are not the same as piano that
was being made before WW II. There are profound changes that have found
their way into the piano, mainly, it seems, as a way to build them more
cheaply.
A few examples are cases glued up with plastic glue, cured by microwave,
vs. hide glue cases that were allowed to cure for months longer before
being sent to frazing. Hammers that bear little resemblance to vintage
ones,(molding wood, density, lacquer, consistancy, size). Knuckle material that is
nothing like the soft leather of yore, etc. Why are the plates thicker?
Zero friction sounds like a great idea, but why does the tone improve when
repinned with firmer pinning?
This doesn't address the lack of care in assembly,either. The
alignment of older pianos I have owned and also examined,(hundreds,by now) is head
an shoulders above current production. The care with which they were
originally built is no longer evident. Case in point, Vanderbilt had a new
soundboard installed in one of our D's at the factory. When it came back, I
found that all the bridge notches were cut behind the pins. Hit the key hard
enough and you can hear it distort. This isn't what was done 70 years ago.
The stringing was so full of false beats that I have been replacing wire,
( 20 treble strings between G5 and C8). The new wire cured all these
problems, so I suspect the chipper is being careless. And why do I have three
pins in the low bass with less than 70 in/lbs of torque? Why are there tuning
pins leaning like the tower of Pisa scattered among the pin field? I
never saw this level of carelessness in the pre war pianos.
The name is the same, the quality is something else.
regards,
Ed Foote RPT
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