future of the acoustic piano

[Stephen Airy]

http://www.newcastle.edu.au/department/fmu/stuart1.html
Check this out   (a new Australian piano with some new
designs) -- what do you guys think?

--- Overs Pianos <sec@overspianos.com.au> wrote:
> Stephen and list,
> 
> Richard Moody wrote;
> 
> >  I am watching a Glen Cambell fundraising
> telecast. . . .The piano player
> >  is playing a digital keyboard.  Sounds as good as
> you can imagine or want.
> 
> I have no doubt that it may well sound convincing on
> TV, but I have 
> to agree with Tony Caught, once you get away from
> the electronic 
> speaker cabinet it's pretty easy to hear that fine
> but essential 
> difference which still remains between a well
> prepared piano and a 
> sampled piano sound.
> 
> Stephen's excellent post on the future of the
> acoustic piano concluded;
> 
> >. . . . . .  I'm not suggesting to return to the
> past, rather
> >to go forward to the next logical step in the
> acoustic piano.
> 
> Who knows where the future of piano making lies.
> Many of us are 
> probably to close to call.
> 
> Michael Jorgensen also raises a good point. There's
> nothing awe 
> inspiring about a keyboard with a block of plastic
> hanging off the 
> back edge, especially when compared to a beautifully
> finished concert 
> piano, tastefully lit on a concert platform.
> 
> Glen Grafton wrote of digitals;
> 
> >A model that is quite extraordinary is the new
> Technics SX-PC25, 
> >which sells for under $1700. Tone and action are
> quite good. . . it 
> >and compares it to a decent 6' grand. It would be
> difficult for most 
> >people to tell the difference-it's that good.
> 
> I remain unconvinced (at this point in time at
> least) re the 
> suitability of the digital alternative for concert
> use. While the use 
> of digitals as part of an orchestra may be tolerable
> in some 
> instances - how could anyone take them seriously as
> a soloist's 
> instrument.
> 
> Richard Brekne wrote;
> 
> >Todays piano manufacturers have, well simply lost
> perspective... they
> >continually explore the possibilites for making
> instruments more and more
> >explosive in sound.
> 
> This may be true of many manufactures Richard, but
> there will always 
> be a small band of fringe dwellers who remain
> committed to that crazy 
> ideal of building a musical instrument.
> 
> Del Fandrich wrote;
> 
> >If we go the direction you're talking about where
> would all the 
> >modern hammer makers
> >be? They would have to start making piano hammers
> again and they've
> >forgotten how.
> 
> I obviously cannot speak on behalf of all hammer
> makers Del, but I 
> can say that Norbert and Frank Abel are committed to
> making piano 
> hammers to suit their customers requirements, that
> is, us the 
> technicians and piano makers. In 1996 I was very
> critical of a couple 
> of sets of Abel hammers that I had received. At the
> (Australian) Gold 
> Coast piano technicians convention in '96, Norbert,
> who had heard on 
> the grapevine of my dissatisfaction, approached me
> to discuss my 
> reservations. He said his biggest problem is
> understanding the 
> requirements of each individual customer. We all
> want something 
> different. Some want the hammers very soft so that
> they can 'juice' 
> them up to the required voicing level, while others
> prefer them just 
> a little on the bright side, so that they can voice
> them down to 
> their preferred level with voicing needles.
> Furthermore, what is the 
> ideal voicing level anyhow, everyone has a different
> opinion, 
> primarily I suspect because we all have different
> levels of hearing 
> roll off. While I realise that the question of
> hammer resilience is a 
> much deeper subject than the simplistic description
> given above, 
> Norbert and I had a fruitful discussion regarding
> our hammer 
> requirements. Subsequent to our discussion in '96,
> Abel has made 
> hammer sets for all of our rebuilds and new pianos.
> To date, we have 
> not had a set that was difficult to voice to the
> levels and 
> projection we are seeking.
> 
> While it may be true to say that many hammer makers
> have lost their 
> way, there are few universal truths to be had
> anywhere. Somewhere out 
> there, there will always be someone who is having a
> go.
> 
> I think perhaps the way forward for present day
> piano manufacturers 
> and the future of the piano, might be to educate the
> world towards an 
> understanding that there is nothing godlike about
> any particular 
> pianos and their makers (thank you Alfred). People
> with talent crop 
> up from everywhere. All of the intellectual and
> creative piano making 
> capacity, contrary to popular belief, is not housed
> under the roof of 
> a single manufacturer. There remain several
> individual manufacturers 
> and freelance technicians committed to our craft.
> 
> Regards to all,
> 
> Ron Overs
> -- 
> 
> _________________________
> 
> Website:  http://www.overspianos.com.au
> Email:      mailto:ron@overspianos.com.au
> _________________________


__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Get email at your own domain with Yahoo! Mail. 
http://personal.mail.yahoo.com/