Hi all, > > Sounds like this guy is "infultrating" the PTG in order to gain as > > much "inside" knowledge as posiible to help him PUT US OUT OF > > BUSINESS! I know that isn't likely, at least not in the near future, > > but that's the plan, right; to make us OBSOLETE. But don't forget... Doesn't a higher-tensioned string produce better sound? If his auto-tuning mechanism slackens the tuning from its normal rest state (realistically by a half step or so???), then won't the piano's tone suffer? If so, this invention will impact the lower-end market more than the upper-end market (where people will still want the better-sounding, conventionally strung pianos). Are these not the same people who go obscenely long intervals between tunings anyway? Tuning pins do slip, and if even a couple of pins slip enough, there are sure to be a couple of very sour notes. You'll get a telephone call at that point. When repeatedly heated and cooled, the strings will become overly hardened and brittle. Surely there are extra service calls ahead. Hundreds of heated strings will be like a Dampp Chaser gone nuclear. What will that do the sounding board? What will that do to the glue joints? Will people want a piano that tunes itself but self-destructs in the process? Anyone buying an auto-tuning piano would be looking at the bottom line in terms of cost. He/she will be smart enough to think in the long-term with regard to cost up front saving on cost later, and he/she will be less interested in the overall quality of the piano. Service calls will be few, even if the piano *needs* service (e.g. regulation, voicing). (If I paid an extra $1000 for some feature that would spare me some other cost, I would be very reluctant to swallow that other cost anyway. I'd feel like a sucker.) Now ten years later, someone is interested in buying a piano and compares a meticulously maintained conventional piano with his/her friend's "self-maintaining" piano that has never been professionally serviced. Which piano do you think that pianist will want to buy for him/herself? Autotuning is a very cool idea, particularly if it can be used to maintain the perfect custom tuning, but I'm not satisfied the bugs are worked out, and as a consumer/pianist, I don't think I'd touch it with a ten-foot pole. Peace, Sarah
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