Ronsen Bacon felt

[David Love]

Performance hall instruments aside, more and more of my customers are
rejecting the factory voicing model which emphasizes power and brilliance.
Not everyone, of course, but many and in increasing numbers as they are
exposed to the possibility of a different way of thinking about tone than is
generally presented by today's manufacturers.  They are seeking a warmer,
more expressive tone, greater control and a more subtle dynamic range.
Power and brilliance, in my view, are not absolute terms but relative ones.
The power of a fortissimo exists mostly in contrast to what can be
accomplished on the lower end--with some exceptions.  Power and brightness
can also cost you big time.  What you may sacrifice is a natural pianissimo,
the ability to play the piano down to a whisper without use of the una corda
(which it wasn't intended for anyway), the ability to create a more
effective wash of sound that requires little if any percussiveness in the
attack, or a more natural legato in which the notes seem less detached by
virtue of the greater match in amplitude between the attack phase and the
beginning of the decay phase.  You may also sacrifice the full, round,
orchestral type of forte that seems to grow out of the piano in exchange for
one that explodes from underneath the lid.  There is a price to be paid at
either end and there are choices to be made about which many will not agree.
While I don't question the skill of various voicing "teachers", I would
question the tonal model that they are using.  It may very well not be mine.


David Love
davidlovepianos at comcast.net
www.davidlovepianos.com 


-----Original Message-----
From: pianotech-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces at ptg.org] On Behalf
Of Erwinspiano at aol.com
Sent: Friday, February 02, 2007 8:42 PM
To: pianotech at ptg.org
Subject: Re: Ronsen Bacon felt

Ahhh yes, the sticky wicket of defining what "a beautiful tone"
really is (snip). 

Dale


I guess the point I'm trying to make is that the tendency for many to 
opt for the beautiful at the expense of power and brightness can cost 
you big time (snip).  

RicB