>Your comments hinted at what I always recommend to my customers: > >At today's rates. if you have less than $2-3000 to spend on a piano, you >should at least consider digital which could very well be better than >a corresponding "acoustic" piano. You should also enquire about the purpose for which the instrument will be used. If someone wants to learn *the piano* an acoustic piano is required. While a digital may be OK for teaching music IMO there is no substitute for an acoustic piano. Another factor to consider is depreciation. Three grand spent on a decent used acoustic piano could very well bring the same or more in five to ten years if it's looked after. Can you say the same about a digital? If you sell and service an acoustic piano you build a relationship with a customer that could conceivably last for generations. This sort of continuity only exists with electronic instruments when problems develop. > By the same token: $50,000 might buy >2 or three ranks of pipes but it could buy much more in an electronic >instrument. I prefer pipes, but organs are a far cry from pianos. Digitally sampling organ pipes and reproducing them is relatively simple and quite effective. Digitally sampling every note on a piano for example, doesn't reflect the reality of the subtle interplay between these notes when they are used in combination. >Yes, many will bring up the issue of "touch". When I was growing up >in the 40's and 50's, I played every imaginable instrument with keys >as we know them. As a result, I learned that humans are adaptable. To a degree they are. On the other hand the quality of a piano's touch has a major impact on whether the instrument or player can produce music on it. You can bang out tunes on almost any old junk but the subtlties which produce the actual music will be absent. >I have the utmost respect for someone who can spend his entire life on >action geometry. We desparately need these dedicated people. However, >if I tried to focus to that point, I'd be even "insaner" than I am! You don't need to focus on it as other people are doing it for you. The important thing is whether the customer is happy and will they still be happy a few years from now. John John Musselwhite, RPT Calgary, Alberta Canada musselj@cadvision.com sysop@67.cambo.cuug.ab.ca
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