Ron Overs wrote: "Simply continuing to build the same spec., as was derived a century ago, can't possibly yield state of the art.." That said, it seems to me that of all manufacturers of traditional acoustic musical instruments, the piano industry is the only one in which I am aware which does incorporate new ideas. Violins are still copied exactly as closely to those whose patterns set the standard 300 years ago using exactly the same methods and materials, and in some cases, even the same tools. Violinists will pay tens of thousands of dollars for a bow made by a certain maker, rejecting modern advances in bow design. Same for the violin itself, even though studies have revealed that audiences cannot hear the difference in a 300 year old Strad and a $300 factory made copy. The guitar hasn't changed much. The only modern changes in stringed instruments have been in the actual production of strings, although one can still play with gut strings. The only accepted advances in organ have been the electric motor to produce the air, but most traditional instruments are still operated by mechanical action -- traditionalists still reject the electric keyboard as a means of operating the pipes, even though there is no discernable difference in tone. Other than adding extra valves in some brass instruments, I am unaware of any major design changes made to wind instruments in the last century, but am admittedly more familiar with brass than woodwind. Many of the criticisms I read on this list have actually been criticisms of incorporation of new ideas (by Steinway, for example) designed to be an improvement for what was previously considered a flaw. So, the statement Ron O. makes here actually contains quite a bit of irony. It does seem to me that musicians would be the ones who are most resistant to changes in any musical instrument. Once a feel has been developed for a certain touch or tone, changes made would be viewed by musicians with a strong dose of scrutiny. Once a product gets to a stage of development that is well received, we tend to not want anyone to fiddle with it. Changes are going to be fussed at by either the musicians or the technicians. If I were the manufacturer, I'd much rather face criticism from the service techs than potential buyers. Ed S. made a very good point that we tend to build our own identity with a compilation of brands. I think it is just as much that we just tend to find something we like and want to stick with it. Jeff -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: <http://ptg.org/pipermail/caut_ptg.org/attachments/20090314/7812adcf/attachment.html>
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