<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN"> <HTML><HEAD> <META http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; = charset=iso-8859-1"> <META content="MSHTML 6.00.2600.0" name=GENERATOR> <STYLE></STYLE> </HEAD> <BODY bgColor=#ffff00><BGSOUND balance=0 src="cid:020d01c2d98e$a4863f00$0980d883@Notebook" volume=0 = loop=infinite> <DIV><STRONG><FONT face="BernhardMod BT" size=5><U>A bedtime story</U></FONT></STRONG></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><STRONG>(Entirely my opinion = and personal theory and not necessarily fact)</STRONG></FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial><FONT size=4><STRONG><FONT face="GoudyHandtooled BT">O</FONT></STRONG></FONT><FONT = face=BellGothic size=3>nce upon a time in a land called New York a great company named Steinway was building pianos that were well ahead of = their time.  Their name was respected throughout all the world, = and their designs were remarkable.  The Steinway piano revolutionized = the industry with great innovative ideas, and in fact many of their = designs and features were copied by other piano builders attempting to = keep with Steinway's pace.  Then something strange happened in the kingdom.  Something that in today's world would be almost unimaginable.</FONT></FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=BellGothic></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=BellGothic>Steinway discovered that with a = lot of marketing along with dominance in the "Concert Artist" promotional = business they could perpetuate their product's popularity and success with little = attention to actually improving on the product itself.  And so it was and = life was good.  But their competitors elsewhere took a = different road.  They began putting huge efforts into research and = development to try and build an even better piano.  Acoustic testing = facilities were built, highly skilled designers, metallurgists, mechanical, and = structural engineers were brought in, and the evolution of the piano slowly moved forward.  Later the computer was invented and with = sophisticated CAD and engineering software the piano took huge strides.  More = modern materials emerged such as improved glues, aluminum action rails, = vacuum cast plates, ABS components, CNC manufactured parts, and more durable finishes.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=BellGothic> </FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=BellGothic>Soon Steinway found themselves in a rather awkward position.  As times changed the ol' S&S was = loosing ground and the factory (speculatively) held the worlds record for = overhead operating costs, (after all, can you think of a more expensive = place in the world to build pianos than in New York City with union labor and those = pesky urban industrial codes??)  What's worse the product began falling = behind it's own potential when in the 1970's CBS decided that managing a = piano company could be kind of like running a television = network.  Fortunately Steinway was rescued by new = energetic investors and their pianos were restored to their previous = glory.  But competition in the piano world was fierce.  Many decent = quality pianos were emerging for less money.  But heck, why upgrade = the product when you can use innovative marketing experts?  And so = the Steinway piano with it's 1920's technology marched forth with the = infamous "best piano in the world", and "all the concert pianist use them" strategy.  A rather bazaar move since their sister Hamburg = division had already modernized their pianos long ago and had no resemblance to = the New York product.  With a slick modern look, beefy legs and = wheels, Renner actions, poly finishes, and a beautifully crisp sound, one wonders what = the heck happened!</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=BellGothic></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=BellGothic>So one day the fancy suits in New York sat = around a big conference table and realize that all the years of over = marketing had painted themselves into a corner.  Having portrayed themselves = as "the perfect piano", how can you back out now and modernize your = product?  "Hey, how about this", says a young gentleman at the end of the table = with a slightly crooked tie, "why don't we get someone else to build pianos for = us using a catchy name like uh... 'Boston', ya that's a good one, and then = will stamp 'Designed by Steinway' on the plate.  And so it was and = for the first time in decades Steinway could sell a "new" piano in the U.S. market.  Of course if it's going to = say "designed by Steinway" you have to change a few things.  So to do it right = they changed the look of the plate casting, varied the scale, used different = hammers, and took away those pesky ABS thingys.  And so it was and a piano = without a true identity was created. Built by Kawai, tweaked by Steinway, and = marketed with a name that had no meaning or history but had a = catchy ring to it.  Of course if it's going to be "designed" by Steinway you = have to make it a bit more expensive to boost it's legitimacy, (and profitability).  So time came to pass and the dealers had = a new Steinway product to sell that was more competitive and the money = was good.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=BellGothic></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=BellGothic>"Wow", said Steinway, "that was a great = idea, let's do that again".  Thus they did and a far away company = called Young Chang began building another "designed by Steinway" = piano using the fun and catchy name "Essex".  Of course the original problem = didn't go away.  In New York the same decades old antique reproduction = Steinway continued to roll off the line.  And although still a very nice = sounding piano with many quality merits... do those tiny Kellogg's fruity pebbles = wheels on the concert "D" look goofy on stage or what?</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=BellGothic>-------------------------------------------------------= -------------------------------------------------------------------------= --------</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=BellGothic><STRONG></STRONG></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=BellGothic><STRONG>My apology</STRONG> to the Steinway = company, the very fine people who work for them, and the die-hard Steinway = fans on the list.  I still think Steinway is a great piano although I have = much more respect for a fully restored true vintage Steinway over the current = antique reproduction version.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=BellGothic></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=BellGothic>Just a theory, flame if you must = but that's what we're here for.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=BellGothic></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=BellGothic>Rob Goodale, RPT</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=BellGothic>Las Vegas, NV</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <BLOCKQUOTE dir=ltr style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; = BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px"> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV> <DIV style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: = black"><B>From:</B> <A title=donmannino@attbi.com = href="mailto:donmannino@attbi.com">Donald Mannino</A> </DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"> </DIV><FONT = size=3>Terry,<BR><BR>I meant what I said; the material _qualities_ are exactly the same, with the = noted exception that Kawai uses some modern materials like ABS action parts = where we feel they improve the quality of the piano, while Boston sticks to the = Steinway story and uses all wood.</FONT></BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>