German loops on M Bass strings

[RicB]

Ron

This strikes me as a mix of yes's and no's... do's and dont's in what we 
should /actually/ do.  Yes we should open our minds to what has merit 
and what hasn't... but it most certainly doesn't stop there.  I don't 
see things anywhere near as black and white as the finish to your first 
sentence sounds to me.  Merit in itself is a very wide concept. And what 
we deem meritable today can and very often is less then meritable 
tomorrow. 

The argument of successful products is one I raise more then anyone else 
here so I'll pick up the ball here.  It is not meant to underline and 
confirm the superiority of each or for that matter any particular 
aspect.  Rather it is meant to remind each of us as to how wide the 
concept of Merit (as used in our context here) ends up being. While what 
you say is true, it is equally true that it is wrong to simply write the 
significance of success or simply without further ado attribute it 
wholly to a fickle and easily manipulated market. Especially when 
success reaches such numbers as it has in certain instances.

NONE of this should in the end have ANY impact on the value pursuing the 
goals inherent in your closing statement.  The danger has always been to 
instead replace one set of myths with another... one deity with 
another.  Its been done time and time and time again in every branch... 
and each and every time those who are part of the process of a switch in 
the order of things are every bit as certain of themselves and every bit 
as aggressive in defense of themselves as their predecessors. When THAT 
happens... all the real good that is embodied in your last sentence gets 
clouded... and more so in the course of time, economics, and market 
realities with exactly the kind of fanciful stuff one first states one 
wants to avoid.

Bottom line... go for it... but keep a large lump of humility in ones 
pocket as to what constitutes concepts like <<knowledge>>, 
<<improvements>>, <<better>>.  Most of the time these end up being just 
plain <<beliefs>>, <<changes>>, and <<tastes>>.

In any case...  IMB.... its all very very cool.  All of it.  And should 
you have any doubts at all as to the tone of my post here... let me just 
say that in MY PERSONAL opinion... for what ever that is worth... the 
piano you showed in Rochester was simply one of the finest looking, 
finest sounding and finest playing grands I have ever had the pleasure 
to run into.

Cheers, and Merry Christmas.
RicB


    We should simply endeavor to open our minds as to what has merit and
    what doesn't, and we need look no further than that. Furthermore, I
    have very little time for attributing the market success of certain
    makers to each and every design idea which they applied to their
    product. The argument that certain makers have been successful, and
    that their success is attributed to the superiority of each aspect of
    their design is fanciful stuff. A little intellectual rigor applied
    to each aspect of tone building with an open mind, will give us far
    more knowledge with which to advance the evolution of the piano.

    Ron O.
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