Hi Newton, What happend was called the radio and the phonograph. All of a sudden people could hear the best players in the world. It has continued to happen as we now have T.V., internet, sat. dishs. Part of the problem is the "big mac" effect. McDonalds wants all their product to be identical. *OR ELSE*. Piano makers have fallen into this trap. Even we as technicians do the same. Look at the Kimball trashing that went on. Their large uprights were distinctly not junk. They were not Bosendorfer or Schimel, but they were playeable and fixeable. Another part of the problem was that Mrs Jones, the local "artist" just could not compete with the likes of Joeseph Hoffman for example. Materials became less plentiful. Unions started demanding a living wage for their members. Governments started enforcing labor laws and more recently environmental ones. I have heard it said (I have NO idea if it is true) that Steinway stays in New York because they can not afford the clean up costs for their factory site. I do agree there were some great makers that produced wonderful instruments. But there were others who did not. In 1923 in Canada there were 53 makers. Now there are none. Regards, Don Rose, B.Mus., A.M.U.S., A.MUS., R.M.T., R.P.T. Tuner for the Saskatchewan Centre of the Arts mailto:drose@dlcwest.com http://donrose.xoasis.com/ 3004 Grant Rd. REGINA, SK S4S 5G7 306-352-3620 or 1-888-29t-uner
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