Ed, Ron and others: This is all fine and well... except for the bit about Hamburg Steinways. They use the same materials for their rims as the NY pianos do. They used to use Mahogany but changed over several years ago. I think you have to look for another explanation for any percieved lack of power. And on that point, I cant really say I agree. Some years ago I was fortunate enough to attend a demonstration of a Hamburg Steinway and a Yamaha CF III in London. A very large hall with both pianos side by side. Same pianist, same music... the Yamaha simply died at 50 paces but as far back as the hall went the Steinway cut through the air like crystal of the finest order. As for Bosies... I havent had the chance of direct comparison, but I have heard Imperials on occasion and cant say I found any lack of power. Rather, and this agrees with most pianist comments I've heard on the matter... there is a steeper power curve. Pianists speak of having to drive a Bosie compared to cruising a Steinway. Another question comes to mind since you site more power.... Power is the tradeoff for sustain when talking about impedance issues in pianos... yes ? So if we can claim more power AND more sustain because of the rim conditions, then a good explanation as to how this works is in order me thinks. Cheers RicB ------------- Ric writes: << Given the Bosies solution, one would be tempted to consider that rock hard rims are not a neccessity for good tone at all.... >> Greetings, Maybe not neccessary for tone, but I don't think the difference is so much in the tone as the power. Even going over 9 feet doesn't make an Imperial more powerful in the back of the hall than your average, run of the mill, Steinway D. Most all the Bosendorfer pianos I have seen had tone out the whazoo, (for the non-native readers, whazoo is a technical term that means "a lot"), but there was a ceiling to their volume. Players have mentioned that the European pianos like Bosendorfer, Bechstein, and Hamburg Steinways sound beautiful, but when played increasingly harder, reach a point of power saturation, after which nothing else happens. In comparison, the New York D will usually continue to deliver more as long as it is played harder, regardless. I think the maple contributes to this characteristic. The Mason's, Chickerings (some), Baldwins and Steinways, as well as a slew of long-gone American brands, used maple and with good/new boards, most all these pianos will have unsurpassed power in comparison to their lighter wood-rim counterparts. Regards, Ed Foote RPT http://www.uk-piano.org/edfoote/index.html www.uk-piano.org/edfoote/well_tempered_piano.html
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