Cheap vs costly

[Delwin D Fandrich]

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Ok. I admit I'm taking the following out of context, but I wanted to get =
the subject line changed and this seemed an easy way to do it.

I wrote:
Does it come as a surprise to you that technically sound pianos are also =
pianos that sound good? The reason I started looking at the design of =
pianos in the first place was because my clients--musicians--were =
complaining about the tonal performance of their highly regarded S&S =
pianos. And I started thinking about the differences between reputation =
and performance. The two are quite unrelated, you know. Also unrelated =
are selling price and performance. And country of origin and =
performance. And a few other things we've come to accept as gospel in =
the face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary. The things that are =
related are good design and good performance.
To which Richard Brekne replied:
Here I am in disagreement with the most of what you say. I do not aggree =
that performance is not related to price, or where instruments are made =
from. My clients.... musicians.... in general think Steinways have the =
best sound and performance around... tho they often wince at the price =
tag, and just about all of them have a different idea of how they are to =
be voiced or just how the touch is supposed to feel.=20

Now, what I'd like to consider is the following:
Has anyone else noticed the evolution of Young Chang of late as defined =
by their Pramberger Platinum Edition Grand Piano series? The results of =
Joe Pramberger's work with Y-C is now becoming evident and increasingly =
they are taking on the overall flavor of Steinway pianos. I've not =
actually measured any of their new scales as yet, but they appear to be =
some similar. Their front and back string duplexing is much like that of =
S&S. Their soundboards are now fully diaphragmed following almost =
exactly the specifications of S&S, though, apparently, with crowned =
ribs. It is not clear to me if their boards are fully rib-crowned or =
some mix of rib-crowning and compression-crowning. Their bridges are now =
built, undercut and notched much like those of S&S. Their inner rims are =
now made of maple though the outer rim is of some other =
hardwood--nyatoh, according to their brochure. They are even using =
spruce bellybracing laid out much like that of S&S and coming together =
in a 'Tone Collector.' And where did that come from? Their keys are now =
spruce and, sadly, are individually weighed off just like S&S.=20

So, what's left to copy, er, design? Well, the elegance of the S&S rim =
for one thing, but not much else. That is a pretty significant =
exception, though. Anyway, it's what I'd expect to see if S&S chose to =
go for somewhat higher production.=20

Do any of you have any first hand experience with these pianos? I've =
only seen them at trade shows and at their U.S. headquarters. Neither of =
which are ideal places to really examine a piano. I will say those I've =
heard showed some promise in the traditional S&S manner. They sounded =
voiceable and workable. But, as I said, I've not had any first hand =
experience with them.

I guess my question are these:=20
Since it appears that Young Chang is now building a line of cheap(er) =
S&S almost-clones, how do they compare with the original? What is the =
public's perception of them? How are Y-C dealers accepting them and, =
more importantly, how are they promoting and selling them? What is their =
performance like really--in the home or studio with real people playing =
them? And, the question I expect both S&S and Y-C are asking: If the =
public was confused by the S&S/Kawai deal, what's it going to be like =
with the S&S/Y-C deal with the Y-C looking and feeling increasingly like =
the S&S?

Del

Delwin D Fandrich
Piano Designer & Builder
Hoquiam, Washington  USA
E.mail:  pianobuilders@olynet.com
Web Site:  www.pianobuilders.com

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