[CAUT] tone color

[Fred Sturm]

On Feb 23, 2011, at 8:33 PM, Ron Nossaman wrote:

> I heard one of my pianos in a big room for the first time in  
> Rochester, with the B, and it really floored me. I thought it was  
> absolutely gorgeous.


Ah, so now we hear that what I had suspected all along is even more  
extreme: only in 2006 heard one of your pianos in a big room for the  
first time? Wow! An extreme case of working in isolation from the real  
world experience interacting with performers and venues.

> Listening, I got the impression the pianist was looking for the  
> bottom of the pianissimo, deeper with each pass, and never found the  
> limit. I asked him about it later, and he confirmed, but said he was  
> used to much more top end power. Dale Erwin leaned in and disagreed  
> with him, saying it had plenty of power out in the room. Thanks Dale.

And when someone said something a little negative, well, fortunately  
friend Dale was there to say "It sounds OK to me from here," so  
everything was hunky dory. No need to pay any attention to criticism.

>
> So that's what we have. If you must have a piano that sounds like  
> what you're used to, keep buying pianos you're used to and  
> rebuilding them like you're used to, and never deviate. I see no  
> point in redesigning pianos that reproduce what's already available  
> everywhere, and don't intend to try. I REALLY like the sound these  
> things produce, and if I can find enough customers who like them  
> too, I'll keep doing them.

Hey, more power to you. If you can find a successful niche, go for it  
and I wish you all success. There is probably a market somewhere of  
people looking for the bottom of pianissimo. I know there is a market  
of people looking for mellow instruments, for varieties of tone color  
on the dark end of the spectrum.

OTOH, I have to say that this is an example of the armchair  
philosopher to the nth degree, filled with authoritative opinions  
about everything but with next to no actual experience in the real  
world (in this case, the real world of the concert hall). I'd suggest  
you stay out of the concert piano business until you actually have a  
successful track record.

Regards,
Fred Sturm
fssturm at unm.edu
"Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness." Twain