What do you want in a vertical piano?

[Brian Lawson]

Having had several uprights (verticals) today with everything from early
Christmas nativity scenes to Encyclopedias I would like to see a curved top
to all verticals !

Brian Lawson, RPT
Johannesburg, South Africa






----- Original Message -----
From: "Tony Caught" <caute@optusnet.com.au>
To: <pianotech@ptg.org>
Sent: Tuesday, November 28, 2000 1:37 PM
Subject: Re: What do you want in a vertical piano?


> 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
> >
> >
>