in defense of the Chickering back

[pianoman]

Hello Jim B.,
I think Aeolians excuse was that they had not enough competition to keep
things up where they should have been.  I remember the last batch of Steck
consoles from E. Rochester and the very next shipment form Memphis.  Same
design, different people assembling them.  That was the dramatic start of
the downfall of me liking the Steck consoles.  They shortly changed the
model designation form "N" to "O" with the scale the same but a cheapened
case style.  Then of course they came out with the 36" Chickering spinets
which were the same(I think) as the Steck, Vose, and everyone else that
Aeolian owned the name of.
	Earlier: Many of the 40" Chickering consoles had very good tone and action
and beautiful cases with nice exotic wood although their bass section many
times were string breakers.  The smaller size hammer shank was also used in
the Knabe lines and Mason & Hamlin consoles.  I am pretty sure that the
Chickering , Knabe , and at least one model of the 40" M & H were the same
piano inside except for the name and case configuration.
  Wurlitzer had their 5' grand and the last ones they built were the best
they ever made.  That is a sad but often true ending.  I think of the last
Ampico "B"'s going in short cheap pianos.  The cream of the crop in
reproducing mechanisms going to pot in junk.  Technology developed too late
and the depression beat it.
	The other thing that was going on was that there was really no big grand
market for anyone until Yamaha and Kawai came along.  I can remember the
first Kawais having stupid problems like the locking pin on the lid would
not match up with the receptacle on the inside of the rim.  We used to have
to drill a larger hole in the receptacle to get it to work.  The first
import that came into St. Louis in the early 60's and made a splash was the
Grotian-Steinweg.  The dealer here had concocted a story about how one of
the Steinway family ( the smartest) designed these pianos.  They later had
to retract all this as I remember a Steinway family member worked for them
for a couple of weeks.  I think their biggest claim to fame was the fact
that all their slots on the continuos hinge all faced the same way.
James Grebe
R.P.T. of the P.T.G.
 Since 1962 in St. Louis, MO
Home of Handsome Hardwood Caster Cups
pianoman@inlink.com        

----------
> From: JIMRPT@aol.com
> To: VOCE88@aol.com; owner-pianotech@ptg.org; pianotech@ptg.org
> Subject: Re:  Re: in defense of the Chickering
> Date: Monday, August 24, 1998 6:03 PM
> 
> 
> In a message dated 8/23/98 9:46:49 PM, VOCE88@aol.com wrote:
> 
> <<""but in talking about what was available at the time  of
> >  the 60's and 70's they don't come out too bad, in my opinion.  When I
think
> >  of the top dog S&S, I think 35 years ago and Teflon bushings.>>
> James Grebe"">>
> 
> <<"I agree, James. Particularly at the price point in the '60s.
> Richard Galassini">>
> 
> James, Richard;
>    In a private post I said "Justification of a barely adequate new piano
> (this Chickering when it was new) by saying it met a "price point" and it
was
> not any "worse" than the other barely adequate pianos in its' price range
is
> hardly a ringing indorsement of the PSO in question." 
>    but...since I can't say PSO on the list I will say.......... this
*price
> pointed piece of merchandise* or PPPoM. :-)  Yeah there were lots of
these
> quality instruments floating around and trying to justify their existence
by
> saying "everyone was having a hard time just misses the point...at least
> S&S/teflon were trying to improve performance and reliability with their
> misguided attempt at change............ What was Aeolians' excuse?
> Jim Bryant (FL)