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<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<DIV
style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: =
black"><B>From:</B>
<A title=DonMannino@mediaone.net =
href="mailto:DonMannino@mediaone.net">Donald
Mannino</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A =
title=pianotech@ptg.org
href="mailto:pianotech@ptg.org">pianotech@ptg.org</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> September 11, 2001 1:05 =
PM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Re: Quality pianos - =
was Killer
Octave</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV><FONT size=3>Well, I thought maybe I would chime in a =
little
and expand a little on Del's comments here:<BR></FONT>
<BLOCKQUOTE class=cite cite type="cite">
<DL>
<DD>....In design, even "cheap" pianos are engineered to have =
proper down
<DD>bearing, bridges etc. The problem between the cheap and the =
expensive
ones
<DD>are that in the manufacturing process, <BR><BR></DD></DL><FONT =
face="Lucida Sans" color=#000080 size=3>Fundamentally this is =
true. More
specifically, it lies in the amount of money spent on production =
machinery
to remove hand labor.</FONT></BLOCKQUOTE>
<DIV><BR>The cheapest pianos, though, are those made by inexperienced =
labor at
very low wages, often using very inefficient production methods. =
Even
the most mechanized factory spends most of its money on labor, so the =
only way
to lower the costs further is to move the factory where the labor is
cheaper. When this is done by an experienced piano company the =
results
can be reasonable instruments. When it is done by an upstart =
company,
the results can be pretty questionable.</DIV></BLOCKQUOTE>
<DIV><FONT color=#000080>It is true that in so-called 'developing' =
economies
there is a period during which many truly horrendous pianos will be =
built using
inexperienced and relatively untrained workers. This is especially true =
in
companies that have purchased some designs and equipment from some
out-of-business U.S., Canadian or European manufacturer and then tries =
to build
it without really understanding what they are doing. The survivors will =
end up
investing in machinery and worker training.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#000080></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#000080></FONT><FONT =
color=#000080></FONT><BR> </DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE
style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; =
BORDER-LEFT: #000080 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">
<BLOCKQUOTE class=cite cite type="cite"><FONT face="Lucida Sans" =
color=#000080 size=3>One would certainly think this would be =
consistently
true, but it often seems that the manufacturer of the low-cost piano =
is more
concerned with backing up its products than are the manufacturers of =
more
expensive pianos. Perhaps this is because the low-end manufacturer =
might be
more willing to accept that their pianos may, indeed, have
problems.</FONT></BLOCKQUOTE>
<DIV><FONT color=#000080></FONT><BR>I think it is more a matter of =
the lower
cost piano maker must try harder to build a reputation. The =
distribution
arms usually handle all the warranty coverage, and they can't control =
what the
factory makes, so they have to do everything they can to fix problems =
in the
best way possible. </DIV></BLOCKQUOTE>
<DIV><FONT color=#000080>Whatever the reason, they often do a better
job.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#000080></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#000080></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#000080></FONT> </DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE
style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; =
BORDER-LEFT: #000080 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">
<BLOCKQUOTE class=cite cite type="cite"><FONT face="Lucida Sans" =
color=#000080 size=3>It should be possible to mass-produce =
pianos giving
excellent performance. Good piano design, hence good piano =
performance, is
not--at least is not inherently--expensive. Rims and soundboards can =
now be
made efficiently by machine, why shouldn't they be made in such a =
way that
they perform well.</FONT></BLOCKQUOTE>
<DIV><FONT color=#000080></FONT><BR>There is no avoiding, though, =
that the
skill and experience of the piano builder is what raises a piano to =
the level
that musicians really respect and enjoy. Here are a few =
examples;<BR>-
It is more expensive for a company to thin soundboards than to leave =
them even
thickness. Even mechanized thinning is rather expensive if done
well.<BR>- It is more expensive to use hammers made with low heat, =
both in
terms of hammer factory efficiency and voicing time.<BR>- It is much =
more
expensive to level strings and fit hammers and voice carefully. =
The
technicians who do final regulation, tuning and voicing are among the =
most
expensive workers any company employs.<BR><BR>There are other =
examples, but
these are 3 that have a strong impact on the tone and touch response =
of the
instrument. While one can make dramatic improvements in well =
built
"cookie cutter" pianos by doing thorough voicing and prepping in the =
dealer or
home, when the piano company knows how to do these detailed and labor
intensive steps well, the final product is on a higher plane than the =
one
which is 'merely' well engineered.</DIV></BLOCKQUOTE>
<DIV><FONT color=#000080>In order:</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#000080></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#000080>-- There are ways around the problem of =
thinning
soundboards. Even if not, it can be done reasonably well on an =
assembly-line
basis. I don't know how well it is being done yet but consider the =
latest Young
Chang pianos with their S&S inspired diaphramatic soundboards. You =
can be
assured that is not being done by hand.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#000080></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#000080>-- Granted, low-heat hammers are probably =
somewhat more
expensive to manufacture, though I think there are probably some way to =
do this
efficiently as well. But, how much does the factory cost of a set of =
hammers add
to the piano? Certainly not enough to justify a cost variation of
thousands.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#000080></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#000080>-- This is the one area that should be =
separating the
real thing from the pretenders. So why is it still necessary to do these =
things
at the dealer level even with some very expensive pianos?</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#000080></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#000080>There are other examples you could give, but =
my point
is just that low-cost pianos of reasonably good performance are doable =
and we
should have them.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#000080></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#000080></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#000080></FONT> </DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE
style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; =
BORDER-LEFT: #000080 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">
<DIV>I have long complained that tuners like to recommend pianos that =
tune
easily and look nicely made. </DIV></BLOCKQUOTE>
<DIV><FONT color=#000080>Well, keep on complaining. Your voice also =
has
influence.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#000080></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#000080></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Lucida Sans" color=#000080 =
size=3></FONT> </DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE
style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; =
BORDER-LEFT: #000080 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">
<BLOCKQUOTE class=cite cite type="cite">
<DIV><FONT face="Lucida Sans" color=#000080 size=3>It is my =
opinion that,
finally, the marketplace is speaking. As the piano has become =
nothing more
than a perfect piece of furniture they are going off to buy =
something else.
Perhaps it's time to bring back the music.</FONT></DIV></BLOCKQUOTE>
<DIV><BR>Easier said than done. There is way too much momentum =
keeping
the current process going - as you said, the market speaks. The =
brave
dealers and technicians who really try to make quality music work to =
sell
pianos are forced to go along with their competitors. The buyers =
come in
the store needing to hear a better story that the previous dealer gave =
them -
and getting that customer to agree to the sale is what pays the =
dealer's
bills.</DIV></BLOCKQUOTE>
<DIV><FONT color=#000080>It's pretty obvious the market is speaking. =
The only
question is just what is it saying?</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#000080></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#000080>Del</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#000080></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#000080></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#000080></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#000080></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV
style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; =
BORDER-LEFT: #000080 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px"><BR>Don
Mannino RPT </DIV></BODY></HTML>