<HTML><HEAD> <META http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1"> <META content="IncrediMail 1.0" name=GENERATOR>  </HEAD> <BODY style="BACKGROUND-POSITION: 0px 0px; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; MARGIN: 5px 10px 10px; FONT-FAMILY: Arial" bgColor=#ffffff background="" scroll=yes ORGYPOS="0"> <TABLE id=INCREDIMAINTABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=2 width="100%" border=0> <TBODY> <TR> <TD id=INCREDITEXTREGION style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; CURSOR: auto; FONT-FAMILY: Arial" width="100%"> <DIV> Ric, following on from your very good forward vision scenario of the future of acoustic pianos the demand for "live" tuners and technicians could be on the same downward path.</DIV> <DIV>Maybe not in the next twenty years...but after that...who know?</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Robin Stevens ARPT</DIV> <DIV>South Australia</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV id=IncrediOriginalMessage><I>-------Original Message-------</I></DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV id=receivestrings> <DIV dir=ltr style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt"><I><B>From:</B></I> <A href="mailto:ricb@pianostemmer.no">RicB</A></DIV> <DIV dir=ltr style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt"><I><B>Date:</B></I> 01/04/07 05:41:32</DIV> <DIV dir=ltr style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt"><I><B>To:</B></I> <A href="mailto:pianotech@ptg.org">pianotech@ptg.org</A></DIV> <DIV dir=ltr style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt"><I><B>Subject:</B></I> electronics replacing pianos?</DIV></DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Hi Alan, and others.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>I know my position on this is an uncomfortable one.  But I think I</DIV> <DIV>really have to stick with it because I really do think sooner or later</DIV> <DIV>the electronic version of the piano will simply become to attractive an</DIV> <DIV>alternative to the market for the industry to be able to sustain</DIV> <DIV>itself.  I see the first serious stage of electronic replacements</DIV> <DIV>happening already now in schools and in various less serious minded</DIV> <DIV>concert situations.  In hotels over here there are very few acoustic</DIV> <DIV>pianos left around.  They rip out the guts of a grand and stick a</DIV> <DIV>keyboard in there.... literally.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>As the electronic piano becomes more and more like its acoustic ancestor</DIV> <DIV>the market will realize that they are cheaper, do not need tuning, are</DIV> <DIV>portable and can do all kinds of things the acoustic piano cant.  When</DIV> <DIV>that happens all the low end pianos will start to disappear.... and the</DIV> <DIV>companies that make them as well.... the knowledge base will be</DIV> <DIV>substantially weakened exasperating the situation.  In the end.... not</DIV> <DIV>in my life time certainly... but sooner or later... only a handfull of</DIV> <DIV>makers will survive as specialty/nostalgic builders who only put out a</DIV> <DIV>few hundred world wide each year.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>We are entering the age of virtual reality folks....  the industrial</DIV> <DIV>revolution is going to look bleak compared to whats in store for us in</DIV> <DIV>the comming 100 years. (if we can keep from blowing ourselves to</DIV> <DIV>smithereens that is).</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>But for all you acoustic lovers out there... and I am one of them... we</DIV> <DIV>can all hope I am dead wrong. :)</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Cheers</DIV> <DIV>RicB</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>    Ric and List,</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>    A hundred years ago the "home entertainment system" was a piano.</DIV> <DIV>    The piano's place took a hit when radio came along, but did not</DIV> <DIV>    disappear.  T.V. stole much of radio's thunder, but did not replace</DIV> <DIV>    it entirely by a long shot.  Electronic keyboards are, IMHO, a</DIV> <DIV>    welcome replacement to the lowest PSOs, but haven't had a</DIV> <DIV>    significant impact on pianos of good quality.  Computers are another</DIV> <DIV>    predominant distraction from all of the aforementioned technologies,</DIV> <DIV>    yet we have new piano manufacturers throwing their hats into the</DIV> <DIV>    ring, satellite radio, more television stations than ever, and</DIV> <DIV>    electronic keyboards available for the price of a decent meal.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>    I guess what I am getting at is that the world has become more</DIV> <DIV>    crowded with things that vie for our attention, but the competition</DIV> <DIV>    posed by the new doesn't necessarily mean the extinction of the old.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>    Cheers,</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>    Alan Eder</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV> </DIV></TD></TR> <TR> <TD id=INCREDIFOOTER width="100%"> <TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%"> <TBODY> <TR> <TD width="100%"></TD> <TD id=INCREDISOUND vAlign=bottom align=middle></TD> <TD id=INCREDIANIM vAlign=bottom align=middle></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></BODY></HTML>