Pearl River

[Delwin D Fandrich]

----- Original Message -----
From: Tony Caught <caute@optusnet.com.au>
To: <pianotech@ptg.org>
Sent: July 23, 2000 10:45 PM
Subject: Re: Peral River


> You remarked about the action in the Apollo piano, is it really a good
> action and did you notice who made it ?
>
> In Aussie that you saw it so I guess I should be able to find out what I
> want from here, however your thoughts are important.
>
> Regards
>
> Tony Caught ICPTG
> Australia
> caute@optusnet.com.au

-----------------------------------------

I don't really remember, if indeed I was told.  I think it was Tokiwa, but I
wouldn't swear to it.  I was operating on very little sleep at the time.
What intrigued me was the shifting action/keyset.

I had seen a version of this action back in the late 1980s when it was the
brainchild of Mr Saito.  Mr Saito's action was a bit more complicated and
sophisticated than this one -- also a bit more like a grand action in that
it used a type of damper lever operating off the back of the key and a
lifter wire to actuate the damper lift.  It was somewhat easier to adjust.
More like a grand damper assembly that you could get to.  The Apollo action
has a more conventional damper spoon lift arrangement.  If dampers are
raised when the action is shifted the spoons simply slide across the damper
lever lift felts.  A bit crude, but it does work.  I should think it might
be a bit tricky to get the two rails aligned just right and the spoons
adjusted to work properly.  Once it's all set up I don't see why it
shouldn't work as advertised, though.  (In the piano I saw the hammers were
not quite properly spaced to the strings so the hammers did not quite clear
the strings as they should.  Could have, though, with just a bit more prep
work.  The damper lift worked quite well.)

Anyway, I wasn't as impressed with the sound of these pianos, but that has
more to do with an outdated acoustical design than with how they were built.
In this they were much like the majority of so-called 'modern' vertical
pianos.

I really do like the idea and don't quite understand why there is not more
pressure on vertical piano makers to improve the action performance of their
instruments and make them more like that of the grand piano.  Especially at
the top end of the price spectrum.  Goodness...for upwards of $20,000 to
$40,000 (US$) you'd think consumers would demand somewhat more than pretty
veneer work, obsolete acoustic design and the (also obsolete) conventional
vertical action typically offered in today's high-end upright.  One can
purchase quite adequate grand pianos for half (or less) the asking price of
some of these uprights.

Regards,

Del