[CAUT] On the value of muffler rails

[Fred Sturm]

On Feb 10, 2011, at 9:42 AM, Edward Sambell wrote:

> 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


Well, I will testify to its usefulness in my own personal experience.  
During college, it made it possible for me to practice piano in one  
room while my wife practiced harpsichord in the next room. After a  
baby was born, it made it possible for me to practice during nap time  
or after bed time. I replaced that felt a couple times, some of my  
first piano repair work. Fortunately we then bought a house with a  
guest house, a piano in each. Also a harpsichord or two in each.
	I agree they aren't used that often, but they are really quite  
helpful for many. I see that many of my clients use them so that a  
child's practice isn't so annoying to the rest of the family. I have a  
client who is a professional classical pianist, who traded his St O  
for a Y C-6 with silent mechanism, has an upright with a muffler in  
his Madrid apartment. So as not to disturb his wife. After all, three  
hours a day consistently does get old and produces a strain on a  
relationship <G>.
	Better, though, that we should all have a clavichord to practice on.  
If only the range were a little larger, and some way could be devised  
to retrofit a sostenuto pedal . . .  and maybe a loud pedal  ;-)
Regards,
Fred Sturm
fssturm at unm.edu
"I am only interested in music that is better than it can be played."  
Schnabel

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://ptg.org/pipermail/caut.php/attachments/20110210/79c869eb/attachment-0001.htm>