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----- Original Message -----=20
From: Wimblees@AOL.COM=20
To: pianotech@ptg.org=20
Sent: September 11, 2001 5:54 AM
Subject: new soundboard was Re: Killer Octave - Warranty Issue?
In a message dated 9/10/01 7:44:05 PM Central Daylight Time,=20
RNossaman@KSCABLE.com writes:=20
I wonder which expensive piano that might be that gets sent back =
through for=20
soundboard replacement when the problem is "discovered"? With such a =
fine QC=20
and recursive correction system in place, I surely must be imagining =
all=20
those=20
killer octaves, zero bearing, and negative crowned soundboards in =
all those=20
expensive pianos as well as in the cheap ones.=20
Ron=20
Point well taken. But that opens up a whole new subject. Perhaps Del, =
or one=20
of the factory reps, can chime in on this. At what point does a =
manufacturer=20
say, "this isn't done right, lets do it again." There's got to be some =
QC. If=20
the engineering is done right, and the jigs make the parts the same =
way, how=20
come one piano has a great sound, and another, from the same line, =
same=20
factory, same people, is dead? What is the criteria in the factory for =
replacing the board?=20
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I rather doubt it's ever done. There is, from time to time, some attempt =
made to fix a particular problem, but it would be in the form of heroic =
voicing procedures, not something like replacing the soundboard.
I once observed that a few ribs through the treble section of a =
production grand piano were being feathered incorrectly--it was being =
done backwards. This meant that the thinnest portion of the ribs passed =
underneath the bridge through roughly the upper third of the scale. =
After some period of denial--"That's how they're supposed to be." =
"That's how we've always done them." "Nothing has changed."--it was =
acknowledged that what I was standing there looking at was actually the =
case and should probably be corrected sometime soon. Since this had =
already been going on for several years it was not felt that any of the =
carefully hand-crafted pianos already in process needed to be fixed =
despite the general agreement that this little problem would probably =
explain the rather disastrous performance through the =
treble--particularly through the killer-octave region--of the piano in =
question.=20
So, no. I would say it would be a pretty rare occurrence for a piano to =
go back for something like a new soundboard just because there was no =
crown, no downbearing or no performance.=20
In the case of limited downbearing I doubt that crown would even be =
checked. Probably the plate would be reset or, more likely, the =
nosebolts would be adjusted to bend the plate (Yes, Martha, bending the =
plate. Even though, according to the official factory tour guide, this =
is never done at the Bauble Creek Piano & Clock Manufacturing Co.!) down =
until the bearing measurements are reasonably close to what they are =
supposed to be.=20
Keep in mind that the workers building these pianos are not idiots. =
Neither are they highly skilled technicians and/or rebuilders with a =
broad background in, and understanding of, piano technology. They are, =
instead, smart and highly skilled factory workers who know a great deal =
about getting their assigned tasks completed quickly and efficiently. =
When something comes down the line that doesn't quite work, there is =
great pressure on those workers to make it work given the tools and =
materials available. And, since they are smart and highly skilled, =
whatever the problem is, it is made to work and the piano goes on down =
the line.
It would be nice to believe that any major mistake would be caught by =
the supervisors but, of course, the supervisors get where they are =
because they also are smart and have proven to be particularly skilled =
at 'fixing' problems like this back while they were production workers.
Quality control in either low- or high- production pianos is a sometime =
thing and is not necessarily geared to ensuring the best of acoustical =
performance. It is at its best when it comes to getting things to fit =
and to getting the visual details and finishing done perfectly because =
these are the things we technicians, along with the various piano =
distributors, piano dealers and the piano buying public, all deem to be =
most important.=20
In the case of something like soundboard function--a function poorly =
understood by many manufacturers--it is unrealistic to believe problems =
of the sort you folks have been discussing would even be fully =
recognized, let alone identified with any kind of understanding of how =
to deal with them. Unfortunately, it has been a long time since the =
piano industry collectively has considered tone and action performance =
to be a real and serious quality issue, else we would not have come to =
the place of accepting the hard, linear sound of today's piano as =
consistent with good production quality. Nor would we be accepting the =
mediocre action performance found in many pianos throughout the price =
spectrum.
It has been my observation that 'quality control' in today's piano =
factory is most often applied to the production process. When I began =
studying the possibilities and processes of building low-cost, =
high-production pianos it quickly became obvious that it would be vital =
to carefully control 'quality'--as identified by component =
tolerances--at every stage of the process simply as a cost control =
measure. This represented a change from the traditional "American" piano =
production process which depends rather much on the skilled, =
hand-fitting of the various components that go into the piano. The =
bellyrail is made in one shop to rather loose tolerances and sent over =
to rim assembly where it is trimmed and fit to the rim. (An example, but =
you get the idea.) Production tolerances applied to each component are =
rather loose with the final fit being determined by the various skilled =
workers along the line. To build low-cost, high-production pianos, it is =
vital to have that belly rail cut to very precise tolerances so that no =
hand fitting is ever required during assembly. Obviously, the latter =
process will require much more expensive machinery and much tighter =
controls all along the line.=20
Throughout the traditional piano making process the emphasis is on =
making things fit and making things look good, and not at all on =
ensuring that the acoustics work. Ron N makes the point, if I understand =
him correctly, that the manufacturers are unconcerned about soundboard =
functionality; a position with which I'm not sure I agree--although the =
effect on the final product will be the same. I don't think it is a lack =
of concern as much as it is a lack of understanding. And, since =
people--regardless of their salaries and positions--fear what they do =
not understand and tend to avoid what they fear, there is a tendency to =
simply avoid the whole issue. For the same reasons they also tend to =
avoid making changes to their established designs and processes that =
might lead to solutions to the problems they have convinced themselves =
don't exist.
It is also important to understand that some of the companies you folks =
are now most critical of have, over the years, tried various changes--at =
the time considered to be improvements--to the pianos we know and love. =
Obviously these changes did show initial promise or they'd not have been =
introduced, but some of them later proved to be disasters. One of the =
difficulties our industry constantly faces is that it sometimes takes =
years for the unintended side effects of a change to work themselves out =
and for any potential problems to become evident. And we are not an =
industry that forgives or forgets easily when things do go wrong. =
Problems the auto industry simply shrugs off, the piano industry--mostly =
via us technicians--remembers for decades.=20
If, and only if, the piano market once again begins to regard the piano =
as a vital component in the ongoing work of art known as music and then =
demands that the piano once again, consistently and competently, exhibit =
the qualities necessary to produce that music, can all of this change. =
Personally, I think the marketplace is right now sending the industry a =
message via their pocketbooks. The marketplace is keeping is =
increasingly keeping that pocketbook closed. I think it is demanding =
more musical and more appropriate pianos for today's society. Unless it =
finds them it will go elsewhere and buy other things. It remains to be =
seen whether or not the industry gets the message. =20
It is entirely possible to build both limited- and high- production that =
consistently deliver both good action and tone performance. (Actually, =
it is easier to design and manufacture good tone performance than it is =
to deliver consistently good action performance--fewer parts involved.) =
But, our emphasis will have to change. Beautiful cosmetic detailing and =
perfectly flat polyester finishes do not a good piano make. But that is =
what we have been demanding and worshiping for the past thirty years and =
that is what we have gotten. Perhaps now it is time to go back to work =
and bring back--and build on--the musicality of the past.
Well, again I ramble, so will close....
Del
Delwin D Fandrich
Piano Designer & Builder
Hoquiam, Washington USA
E.mail: pianobuilders@olynet.com
Web Site: www.pianobuilders.com
=20
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