Bravo!! ----- Original Message ----- From: Delwin D Fandrich <pianobuilders@olynet.com> To: <pianotech@ptg.org> Sent: Tuesday, July 02, 2002 10:05 AM Subject: Re: self tuning piano???? > You're absolutely right, Wim. This thing can't possibly work. And while > we're at it, let's trash a few other ideas that are so far out there that > they also can't possibly work: the internal combustion engine comes to mind. > All those moving -- metal sliding against metal, what a stupid idea -- parts > and trying to vaporize liquid gasoline fast enough to burn with enough force > to produce power...ridiculous. Not only is the basic idea unworkable, think > what it will do to the economy. All the wagon makers, horse farms and stable > workers will be out of jobs, not to mention the rig repairers and wagon > technicians. Surely the world will be awash in unemployment if the big > manufacturers go ahead with these foolish ideas. And I understand there are > a couple of fool brothers somewhere who are even working on a way to get one > of these engines to power some kind of mechanical contraption they call an > aeroplane. This aeroplane thing -- as ungainly and as heavy as it is -- they > hope to get off the ground and make fly through the air. Now everyone knows > just how stupid that idea is. Why that thing is a whole lot heavier than > air. > > Well, I'll not go on. It's clear that we must trash every new idea that > comes along in this business. And the sooner the better. After all, the > piano business is so robust and thriving just now it would be a terrible > shame to do anything that might upset things. It would never do to take an > idea with some obvious problems and develop it over time and actually make > it work. Like the spelling checker, for example. Does anyone else remember > how ungainly and awkward they were when they first became available? > Impossible to use! Not to mention buggy, slow, inaccurate, incomplete -- > really more trouble than they were worth. Besides, if one were ever made to > work well, think what it would do to the editing industry. Now they are so > simple and efficient they actually can be set up to run in the background > and make even pathetic spellers like me look good. And editors -- at least > the one to whom I'm married -- are busy correcting bad grammar, typos and > awkward sentence structure. (No, she didn't edit this -- all of the > grammatical, typos and structural errors are my own.) > > Have a nice, comfortable and non-challenging day one and all.... > > Del > > ------------------------------------------------------ > > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: <Wimblees@AOL.COM> > To: <Pianotech@ptg.org> > Sent: July 01, 2002 1:51 PM > Subject: self tuning piano???? > > > > In the July Journal is a hillarious article about the self tuning piano. I > know this story has been on the list before, but I just want to be sure all > of you read it, just for the fun of it. It is absolutley unreal to think > that someone could actually justify the invention of this "tool". What is > even more discouraging is that someone from the piano industry actually paid > this guy to develop and install the system in a real piano. > > > > Here are a couple of misnomers which lead this guy to think the systme > works. He thinks one of the reasons strings go out of tune is because tuning > pins slip. To solve this problem, he actually has developed a "string lock", > to permantly clamp the strings in place, making tuning pins superflous. > Tuning pins and strings do not move. (unles the pin block is bad). > > > > Another problem with the system is that the piano will be re-tuned > repeatedly to a tuning set at the factory. This tuning will be done by a > "Story & Clark Master Technician". Oh, I know the kind. The one in the booth > at the end of the production line, competing with the noise of the stringing > department. I am sure that will be a great tuning. For comparison, it took 4 > CTE level tuner 5 hours to tune a piano at the convention. Do you think > there might be a differnce between the two tunings? I wonder if the piano > can be reprogrammed? Will Ed be able to do his thing on it? > > > > Mr. Gilmore's experiment "have shown that varying the pitch of a string 50 > cents requires, on the average, about one watt per string". Oh that's great. > A pitch raise of 50 cents, with all the strings being tuned at the same > time. I wonder what the effect on the soundboard will be? Do you think it > will stay in tune? > > > > Mr. Gilmore, if you're lurking, please just concentrate on your job as a > engineer, and leave pianos to people who have expericen tuning and repairing > them. I'm sorry you spent so much time and engergy, not to mention money, on > a system that is a failure. You might be able to sell a few of these things > to unsuspecting customers, but you have done the tuning industry, not to > mention the whole piano industry, a great diservice inventing a usuless > electronic device. You should be ashamed of yourself for even attempting to > justify your invention. > > > > Wim Blees RPT > > Tuscaloosa, AL > >
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