Sore point (was QRS question)

[Ron Nossaman]

>Point well taken, Ron.  And in the case of a fine piano such as a 1900 
>Steinway, it is possible and (I agree) proper to add the linkage for the 
>middle pedal which I would realistically estimate 1.5 - 3 hrs to install 
>depending on the dance that's needed.
>
>However there are 3-pedaled, lesser quality grands that don't have sostenuto 
>function - they have a dummy spring already or a bass sustain, which in my 
>opinion is a less likely candidate for major concern about the middle pedal.  
>After all, one of the main historical reasons that upright pianos have three 
>pedals is because salesman didn't know what to tell customers who inquired 
>about why the piano had only two pedals (they expected three). - Matt Wynne

Most of the player retrofits I've seen are in pianos with what used to be
functional sustenutos before the player was installed. Even if the middle
pedal was only a bass sustain, I still feel that the added enhancement of a
player mechanism shouldn't entail the loss of any existing function. The
only times I even get involved in these situations is when a customer of
mine, or of another tech, complains about the poor pedal function and wants
it to work like it was designed to. I've tuned plenty of these pianos that
had poorly working pedals, damper and sustenuto, without making an issue of
it with the customer. If they don't mind, it really isn't my problem. On
the other hand, I feel it's the responsibility of the player unit installer
to do whatever is necessary during installation to make sure that the
instrument works at least as well after he's finished, as it did before he
started. Just going down the installation checklist and throwing out or
shrugging off what isn't adequately accommodated in the parts box is the
equivalence of just replacing action parts with whatever is at hand without
regard to geometry and final performance expectations. The possibility that
the customer won't know the difference, doesn't make it right and proper,
any more than the likelihood of the customer not noticing when it's done
right means that you wasted the time making it right. I get the distinct
impression that installation of a player retrofit is generally  considered
to be about as technically demanding as installing a Dampp-Chaser, only
more lucrative. Maybe I'm wrong, but that's what I think I'm seeing, and
while I read the occasional post on player retrofits, I don't read much of
anything concerning pedal function after the fact. I sure see the results
in the field though.

That's my point, justified or not.


Ron N