Don, I do concede the point, but in actual practice this rarely occurs.If the felt wears out it is rarely replaced. I do have one customer, a very sensitive music teacher who used it because the treble hurt her ears, but after voicing the hammers she no longer does. It raises the issue too that a prospective buyer will most probably understand the need for tuning, but will not be told that regular use of the middle pedal will require replacement of the felt. It might lead the piano owner to believe their piano to be faulty, or become a warranty concern. To install a component which is known to wear out quickly has more in common with planned obsolescence than good maintenance. Ted ________________________________ From: Don Mannino <dmannino at kawaius.com> To: "caut at ptg.org" <caut at ptg.org> Sent: Thu, February 10, 2011 10:58:27 AM Subject: [CAUT] On the value of muffler rails Ted, Yes, your comments are certainly valid. But remember, customers do like to have the muffler rail to silence the piano late at night. For those customers who need it, having this capability is very valuable. The fact that it does not last very long if used much is not really such an unusual thing in our business. After all, tunings don’t last very long either, but we still tune pianos! The muffler felt is an expendable item that should be replaced regularly, that’s all. Don Mannino From:caut-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:caut-bounces at ptg.org] On Behalf Of Edward Sambell Sent: Wednesday, February 09, 2011 6:44 PM To: caut at ptg.org Subject: Re: [CAUT] Yahama YUS 5 This was in the Hoffman pianos, made by Euterpe, and acquired by Bechstein. As you say, very slick indeed. Though I take a somewhat jaundiced view of the muffler rail. If it gets used, it wears out quickly, and if not, why have it. Musically it is useless, and the rationale it is there for apartment dwellers makes little sense. If it were a valid need for the piano, why is it not in grands too? The truth is that it is there to give the middle pedal something to do, and is cheaper than the unlamented bass damper lift, which has all but disappeared.Of course, the marketers would scream if piano makers simply did the sensible thing and eliminated the middle pedal in verticals altogether, or used it exclusively for the sostenuto as is being done now in the more expensive instruments. A generation ago a prominent UK music educator, Tobias Matthay, likened the 'celeste' pedal, as it is called in England to "a dog barking with its head in a sack". Evidently he was not impressed with its celestial qualities. But I have to admit "celeste" was a brilliant selling tactic If a customer insisted on a muffler rail it could made optional or retrofitted. Ted Sambell -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: <http://ptg.org/pipermail/caut.php/attachments/20110210/1492adb5/attachment.htm>
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