<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN"> <HTML><HEAD> <META http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=US-ASCII"> <META content="MSHTML 6.00.5730.11" name=GENERATOR></HEAD> <BODY id=role_body style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: #000000; FONT-FAMILY: Arial" bottomMargin=7 leftMargin=7 topMargin=7 rightMargin=7><FONT id=role_document face=Arial color=#000000 size=2> <DIV> <DIV>     <STRONG><EM> <FONT size=3>    Hey Dave</FONT></EM></STRONG></DIV> <DIV><STRONG><EM><FONT size=3>     There are corporate dynamics at work that are affecting the perception of the public & we as technicians,  & You are right we have been bitchin for 30 years but not so much about the piano design in general  but the poor general unfinished qualities of the piano as they come to the consumer ie. regulation,voicing,false beats  & substandard parts we find in the N.Y.Piano.</FONT></EM></STRONG></DIV> <DIV><STRONG><EM><FONT size=3>  First it was verdigris, then Teflon, felt knuckles, crappy bass strings, funky bridge work & a host of soundboards in the 80's that were just splittin up. These are manufacturing problems & all companies have them.</FONT></EM></STRONG></DIV> <DIV><STRONG><EM><FONT size=3>  I'm grateful for all these problems because they make me sooo much money.  </FONT></EM></STRONG></DIV> <DIV><STRONG><EM><FONT size=3>    How ironic that the most iconic-ly recognized piano in the world to the public & is most under prepared piano in world on the day they are sold  & shhhh dont't say anything.  The reason being is the one David Love  chronicled & the one that makes no rational sense.  The Factory sends out pianos that are not finished with the understanding the dealer must finish the custom preparations for the end user. So, when a field tech is giving a report detailing the problems of a given piano , the factory & dealer than seem to play the game of  pass the buck back & forth until every one is fatigued & the client just gives up  & pays for the work themselves or ........they hire an attorney. AMHIK. I have two such cases happening right now. (minus the attorney)</FONT></EM></STRONG></DIV> <DIV><STRONG><EM><FONT size=3>  This ridiculous arrangement creates all kinds of bad will by pitting the attending technician between the dealer & the factory... Or the tech is not taken seriouly.  In my recent situation with a new O the Factory rep refferred to regulation & and poor bass damper shut-off as custom work & they weren't responsible for it.  This is true, &  because apparently they do not come well regulated from the factory.  oops catch 22! </FONT></EM></STRONG></DIV> <DIV><STRONG><EM><FONT size=3>   The dealers are expected by the mother ship to hire a tech. to detail the product.  My experience is that most of this prep work isn't done. </FONT></EM></STRONG></DIV> <DIV><STRONG><EM><FONT size=4><FONT size=3>  When the dealer states the piano <U>has </U>been prepped I can usually tell when It hasn't  because the bedding bolts are never regulated & a solid reg. can't be done unless they are. Other items exsist as well, many of which have been stated in this discussion.</FONT></FONT></EM></STRONG></DIV> <DIV><STRONG><EM><FONT size=3>  The solution</FONT></EM></STRONG></DIV> <DIV><STRONG><EM><FONT size=3>1. A change in attitude by the company towards in factory service,prep & the technician in the field encountering legitimate service concerns.</FONT></EM></STRONG></DIV> <DIV><FONT size=3><STRONG><EM> 2. the company is good at providing tech training/support at conventions....... ie. Eric Schandall, Kent Webb etc. public appearance</EM></STRONG></FONT></DIV> <DIV><STRONG><EM><FONT size=3> But,  encouragement  in the form of Collegial Factory to technician communication is not provided. </FONT></EM></STRONG></DIV> <DIV><STRONG><EM><FONT size=3> ( In fact I can't get a return phone call about a warranty problem from Bill Huse.)</FONT></EM></STRONG></DIV> <DIV><STRONG><EM><FONT size=3> 3. requiring the dealer to prep their products if the factory doesn't & pay the dealer for it & stop passing the buck.</FONT></EM></STRONG></DIV> <DIV><STRONG><EM><FONT size=3></FONT></EM></STRONG> </DIV> <DIV><STRONG><EM><FONT size=3> Yamaha & Kawai warranty service & technician friendly attitude has really set the Standard.  I would love for Steinway N.Y. to see that</FONT></EM></STRONG></DIV> <DIV><STRONG><EM><FONT size=3>........................... It's time to step up.</FONT></EM></STRONG></DIV> <DIV><STRONG><EM><FONT size=3>  If I was buying a new piano from Steinway it would be a diamond rough that has potential but I would definitely feel I wasn't getting what was promised in all the Myriad of slick marketing.</FONT></EM></STRONG></DIV> <DIV><STRONG><EM><FONT size=3>  Dale Erwin</FONT></EM></STRONG></DIV> <DIV><STRONG><EM><FONT size=3></FONT></EM></STRONG> </DIV> <DIV><STRONG><EM><FONT size=3></FONT></EM></STRONG> </DIV> <DIV><STRONG><EM><FONT size=3>  </FONT></EM></STRONG></DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <BLOCKQUOTE style="PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: blue 2px solid"><FONT style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent" face=Arial color=#000000> <DIV><BR class=khtml-block-placeholder></DIV> <DIV>The reality is the entire world knows Steinway by the Hamburg instruments; only the US knows them through the New York pianos; thus, the iconic, legendary rep is in MOST cases deserved, because generally Hamburg Steinways are among the best pianos in the world, and the actions are well-made and well-balanced. The New York instruments' actions are a different story, and you can't know how true this is, European, Asian, or South American techs, because you have little or no personal experience with the New York pianos, or perhaps with a highly tweaked and retrofitted performance instrument.</DIV> <DIV><BR class=khtml-block-placeholder></DIV> <DIV>The standard of action ratios and final fabrication tolerances is a different world between Hamburg and New York, and that's the truth. My close colleagues and I have been scratching our heads and yakking---bitching, really---about this disparity for 30 years.  The way I choose to frame it now, to myself and others, is this:  I don't know why the situation is what it is---I can't personally figure out the value in it---but I accept it as how it is, and perceive new and newish American Steinways as diamonds in the rough---ready to be polished and finished into something beautiful. And they can be; it just takes a little more money and attention. Like AMG and Mercedes:  AMG takes the finished product, and then tweaks and finishes it to their standard---performance modification, performance enhancement, souping it up, tweaking it out.</DIV> <DIV><BR class=khtml-block-placeholder></DIV> <DIV>Not a deficit, but a possibility. This way of thinking and seeing has helped me to be less of a bitter old gossip, and more of a proactive artisan. My clients like it better, too---a positive spin rather than a negative, without lying to anyone. Half full, not half empty.</DIV> <DIV><BR class=khtml-block-placeholder></DIV> <DIV>Now for another half cup of coffee, and to work.</DIV> <DIV><BR class=khtml-block-placeholder></DIV> <DIV>Cheers----</DIV> <DIV><BR class=khtml-block-placeholder></DIV> <DIV>David Andersen</DIV> <DIV>Malibu, CA</DIV></FONT></BLOCKQUOTE></DIV> <DIV></DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV><FONT lang=0 face="Book Antiqua" size=2 FAMILY="SERIF" PTSIZE="10"><I>Dale Erwin--Piano Restorations<BR>Modesto, Ca.<BR>Shop 209-577-8397<BR>cell 209-985-0990<BR></FONT><FONT lang=0 face="Book Antiqua" color=#000000 size=3 FAMILY="SERIF" PTSIZE="12"></FONT><FONT lang=0 face="Abadi MT Condensed" color=#000000 size=3 FAMILY="SANSSERIF" PTSIZE="12">Web site <A href="http://www.erwinspiano.com/">http://www.Erwinspiano.com</A> </FONT><FONT lang=0 face="Book Antiqua" color=#000000 size=2 FAMILY="SERIF" PTSIZE="10"><BR><B>Restoration & Sales of</B><BR><B>Steinway & Sons plus other fine pianos.<BR>Custom made soundboards by design<BR></B></I></FONT></DIV></FONT></BODY></HTML>