Ron Thanks for the enlightened perspective. We can all be a little myopic at times. Having been on this list for a while and guess what, I've had to change my mind about some thoughts and ideas I had that frankly wern't very well thought out. There's always room for balance. Thanks for the different veiw points you all. Dale Erwin ----- Original Message ----- From: "Ron Overs" <sec@overspianos.com.au> To: <pianotech@ptg.org> Sent: Tuesday, July 03, 2001 6:43 PM Subject: Re: Rescaling > Phil and list, > > Newton wrote: > > >Most just follow what was done before. > > Phil Ford replied: > > >You make that sound like an insult. > > I feel sure that Newton would not have said it as an insult. > > >I'm one of those that just follows what was done before. I suppose > >I should refer to myself as a piano restorer rather than a > >rebuilder. That's what I believe to be my task. I think there is > >an obligation toward the people that built the instrument to put it > >back as much as possible to the way that it was originally. > > That's fine, but it just depends on whether you believe your purpose > is to restore something which was created at an earlier time to > something resembling what it was, or whether you strive to update the > instrument to something resembling the current state of the art. > > >If you do otherwise the finished product is not the maker's piano > >but your own. > > There is nothing wrong with that, provided that you 'otherwise finish > the product' with the full knowledge and consent of the owner. > > >I once went to a class given by Mr. Sanderson (whose name often > >seems to come up in discussions of improving pianos). He made a > >comment which I thought was very much to the point and it went > >something like this; well, you could redesign the scale on a > >Steinway but then you really wouldn't have a Steinway any more you'd > >have a Frankensteinway. > > You may well, but you might also have a Supersteinway, depending on > the skill and tone building knowledge of the re-designer. > > >I start to worry when I hear the words redesigned or improved or > >some variation thereof. These words are often used by those that > >think that new is better and technology is our friend. > > I don't worry about this at all. But I do worry about folks who put > forward the view that certain pianos represent the ultimate of what > can be achieved, and that further evolution is impossible. It would > be wrong to assume that new is better, it could be or it could be > worse depending on the knowledge, skills and commitment of the > practitioner. > > > the past didn't have our technology and in some areas they didn't > >have our knowledge. > > Exactly. > > >But they were just as smart as we are, were tireless workers and > >experimenters, and could play and hear just as well as we can. > > Agreed. And some today are tireless workers with similar abilities. > > >I believe many of their design decisions were made deliberately, not > >accidentally nor through ignorance. > > Deliberately yes, but they like us today, must carry a certain level > of ignorance since there is always more to be learned. Those who > believe that there remains more 'performance' potential will be > leading the charge. The charge never will be lead by those arrogant > enough to think that they have arrived. When each goal is achieved > there always will be another further up the road to be conquered. We > build upon what's gone before. In turn, our thinking of today will > superseded by future designers. That's the way it should be. In fifty > years time, the worthwhile pianos of today should be rebuilt (and > modified where contemporary thinking deems it appropriate), while > today's 'rubbish' should be burned. > > >. . The Steinway B seems to be a favorite whipping boy of some of > >these discussions. > > Only because Steinway are 'sitting on their hands'. The charge is not > being lead by Steinway at present. Their designs are outdated. While > the D is a reasonable scale (as the Yamaha and Kawai clones also > indicate), the smaller grands from the C down inclusive leave much to > be desired. > > >If you talk to pianists (who, not so incidentally, are the ones that > >pianos are built for - not piano technicians) you will find many who > >love that piano. > > Many still love 1960s E type Jag's too, but they're hardly state of > the art in 2001. > > > I have played on some Steinway Bs that will make you cry or laugh > >out loud they are so wonderful to play. I seldom have that > >experience on new pianos with their low inharmonicity scales and > >their properly designed thi! > >s > > and properly designed that. > > Hang in there Phil, it'll happen one day. > > >I have the impression that there are many people who seem to feel > >that if you just find the right formulas and right computer programs > >you can design a perfect piano. > > You may be right, but I believe it's absolute nonsense. Formulas and > computers are merely tools to be used by folks with a flare for > design coupled with a musical sense. Computers are not designers, > just dumb machines, and a useful tool for todays designers. > > >Then once this perfect design is achieved everyone can just build it. > > No they can't. Firstly, the perfect design doesn't and never will > exist and secondly, there are pianos being built out there by folks > you wouldn't trust to build a wheelbarrow. > > >The problem with this is that every piano will be the same. > > I don't agree (even the Hamburg and New York Steinway Ds are > completely different beasts - yet they share almost the same scale. > The plate of the New York piano is much heavier than the Hamburg > piano, so they could never sound the same). Different folks like > different tonal qualities and different piano makers will be just as > different. Believe me Phil, the world won't be a boring place > provided that folks can just get past the floored concept that only > one piano maker can 'cut the mustard'. There are always several > leading people in any age. Don't let the political rhetoric of > marketing departments get in the way of the truth. > > Regards, > > Ron Overs > -- > Overs Pianos > Sydney Australia > ________________________ > > Web site: http://www.overspianos.com.au > Email: mailto:ron@overspianos.com.au > ________________________ >
This PTG archive page provided courtesy of Moy Piano Service, LLC