Who needs,,,,,,,,,,

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Greetings, 
  Inre quality of current Steinway pianos, I wrote: 
>    That doesn't explain why the hammershank traveling is so poor,  or why 
 
And John replies: 
I suspect the travelling is often poor by the time they're delivered 
because the flanges don't have a solid base on which to sit. The cloth over 
the action rails is terribly traditional, but is it all that stable when 
new?<< 

   It isn't the cloth, I use it myself and it is quite stable.  The problem 
here is the factory philosophy that the hammers appear evenly spaced when at 
rest.  However, the irregular spacing of the agraffes means that the hammes 
have to travel to meet the strings, or be likewise irregular at rest.  This 
is where function is being made to follow form, and the result is rapid wear 
in the bushings and unvoicable hammerlines.  You would think that the builder 
of the "standard piano of the world" would figure out how to drill the 
agraffe holes along an even line.  

I continued: 
>damperwires are so unpolished that they make as much noise  as old trichord
>felt, or damperwires that are pressing very firmly against one side or other
>of the guidebushings.   

>>Many of these problems are evident in different vintages of instruments. 

   I am speaking specifically of the six new Steinway grands that Vanderbilt 
purchased this past summer.  They all exhibit the same low level of action 
finishing and our budget this summer will be taken up by the demands of 
rendering these pianos as they should have been delivered.  The 28 Yamahas, 
on the other hand, are all consistant and well set up.(though I am not wild 
about the tone).   

I bring up another point of contention I have with the factory: 
> There is little reason to send a piano out with glide-bolts all over the
>place, or the front-pins nicked by the spacing tool of an ignorant or
>careless worker.

>>Glide bolts are a regulating problem. That piano has possibly been sitting 
in a crate in NYC for a while. << 
   
  It appears that the pianos are moved out of the factory as fast as they can 
make them.  and the irregularity I am seeing in the keyframe bedding is 
beyond what would happen in the crate, unless the wood is improperly 
seasoned.  I don't think the action finishing dept. is really on the ball. Or 
the workers are so rushed to meet production quotas that the fine regulation 
of these components is not a priority.  

 >>I hear both Fazioli and Bosendorfer have excellent 
quality control. What do they cost... nearly twice the Steinway or only 
half again as much? What are their comparable maintenance schedules?<< 

   I don't know the prices of these instruments, but surely it doesn't cost 
an additional $20,000 worth of factory time to carefully regulate the 
actions, does it?
    My point is that there seems to be a lack of care in the current Steinway 
production.  This generally seems to be a "from-the-top-down" decision 
result, and as a technician out in the field, I hate to see it.  
    When they once again see sales falling, Steinway will attempt to remedy 
the problems, but craftsmen and regulators are not easily purchased 
commodities. At some point, the management of this company will find that 
they can no longer hire people that will be able to teach others how to do 
the job right.  In other words, the chain will be broken and there will no 
longer be  Steinways that are capable of being brought up to the same level 
of response that created the "standard". 
   Techs have some responsibilty in this process, and I think a current 
dialogue amongst us is important. 
Thanks for the response. 
Ed Foote