What do you want in a vertical piano?

[Tony Caught]

Hi Christopher,

My first question for you is "Have you got a Million Dollars ?"
My second question is "What country are you in ?"

Living in Darwin, Australia, I know what humidity is and having worked in a
piano factory or two in China for a couple of years I can guess at what
problems you will have. You have a prototype that was designed and built in
America by an American designer of an unknown quality and to comment on your
questions may be going against the designer or duplicating the designer,
either way, to build a piano that will cope with the tropical weather
conditions and at the same time be suitable for non-tropical conditions is
asking a lot.

>From my experiences you can get anything built in Asia but unless you have
full diagrams and instructions for every part and piece of assembly and
then, competent supervisors to ensure that this is done, you will run into
trouble.

Having been down the road that you are thinking of following I could
possibly help you in many of your questions however, to do so would be time
consuming and could not be done without knowing more about the innovative
design.  If similar to pianos already in existence, this possibly could be
done, but, innovative ? what is different ?

I am answering this on list to help you gain others input to my comments,
however if to go further, please contact me privately.

Regards

Tony Caught ICPTG
Australia
caute@optusnet.com.au

----- Original Message -----
From: Christopher Witmer <cdwitmer@spamcop.net>
To: <pianotech@ptg.org>
Sent: Tuesday, November 28, 2000 6:24 PM
Subject: What do you want in a vertical piano?


> Hello, I'm new to this list and I am not a piano technician -- yet. I am
> based in East Asia and I am currently trying to learn as much as
> possible pertinent to the production of a highly innovative vertical
> piano, which I hope to see marketed in East Asia as well as North
> America and other regions. The prototype for this piano (now in my
> possession) was designed and built in the USA but for various reasons it
> is felt that this piano should be manufactured either entirely in Asia,
> or else jointly in Asia and North America. I am hoping to be able to
> arrange and coordinate things between the American designer and Asian
> manufacturers to ensure that the production of this piano is a total
> success.
>
> I hope the gentlepersons on this list will be so kind as to indulge from
> me three rather broad questions.
>
> The first question is, what is it that makes some vertical pianos so
> much more durable than others, with regard to extreme ranges of humidity
> and temperature? What are the main problem areas? What sorts of things
> should I seek in the manufacture of this piano to achieve optimum
> durability? This is especially important in parts of Asia with
> monsoon-type climates, which alternate between cold, dry seasons and
> hot, humid seasons. This is aggravated by the fact that many Asian
> houses lack the central climate control common in North America. To a
> degree I'm sure the same concerns must apply in North America and
> Europe. We will strongly encourage purchasers to implement climate
> control measures at the point of installation, but I want the piano to
> be inherently as durable as possible.
>
> The second question is, what sorts of features or attributes would you
> like to see in a vertical piano? Or, perhaps I should put it, what would
> an enlightened consumer want in a vertical piano? What sorts of
> important features and attributes tend to get short-shrifted by
> manufacturers? (For whatever reason, i.e., ineptitude, cost-cutting,
> technical difficulty of "doing it right," slavish following of
> fashion/tradition, etc.)
>
> I assume that both the designer and any potential manufacturers will
> also be able to provide answers to the above questions, and of course I
> intend to ask them as well. However, since you gentlepersons are closest
> to the consumers, I think the people on this list may be the best
> qualified to provide useful answers. My goal is to do justice to the
> designer's genius and also to ensure that the needs of the consumers are
> met.
>
> By the way, I suspect that the list price for this vertical piano will
> probably end up being in the $10,000-$15,000 range. The quality will be
> in keeping with that price -- in fact, I think it will be seen as a much
> better value than anything else currently marketed in that price range.
>
> Finally, my third question is, what books and/or correspondence courses
> would you recommend for me to get up to speed on piano technology as
> quickly as possible? I don't think I need to become an expert, but I
> need to be able to "hold my own" and communicate effectively with
> everyone connected with this project.
>
> Feel free to reply either to the list or off-list if you feel that would
> be more appropriate.
>
> Very gratefully yours,
>
> Christopher Witmer
>
>