<!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 6.00.6000.16414" 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>  Yes it was supposed to go direct.  Sorry</DIV> <DIV>  Dale</DIV> <BLOCKQUOTE style="PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: blue 2px solid"><FONT style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent" face=Arial color=#000000 size=2> <DIV>  Yeah baby ...action ratio finder.  uh huh</DIV> <DIV>  Dale</DIV> <BLOCKQUOTE style="PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: blue 2px solid"><FONT style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent" face=Arial color=#000000 size=2> <DIV><BR></DIV> <DIV>OK. I'll stick to just one, steady, measurable difference.  I do a quick action ratio check on pretty much every grand piano I come to; American Steinways have action ratios that are all over the map, with very few below 6.0, and many above that, which is defective in my view. German Steinways almost always have an action ratio of 5.5, 5.6, or 5.7---what I consider to be ideal, and should be repeatable in a well-controlled, craft-oriented and led factory setting. To me, this is an indication, a clue, and could be revealing of many other such disparities...each piano technician has to make their own judgement.  The problem is, most American techs have little or no experience with German Steinways, and the reverse applies to European and Asian techs.</DIV> <DIV><BR class=khtml-block-placeholder></DIV> <DIV>The negativity you European guys pick up from us in the States is experience-based and documented; it's not some sour-grapes, personality-deficit-driven or ego-driven thing. </DIV> <DIV><BR class=khtml-block-placeholder></DIV> <DIV>David Andersen</DIV></FONT></BLOCKQUOTE></FONT></BLOCKQUOTE></DIV> <DIV></DIV> <DIV> </DIV></FONT><BR><BR><BR><DIV><FONT style="color: black; font: normal 10pt ARIAL, SAN-SERIF;"><HR style="MARGIN-TOP: 10px">AOL now offers free email to everyone. Find out more about what's free from AOL at <A title="http://pr.atwola.com/promoclk/1615326657x4311227241x4298082137/aol?redir=http://www.aol.com" href="http://pr.atwola.com/promoclk/1615326657x4311227241x4298082137/aol?redir=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Eaol%2Ecom" target="_blank"><B>AOL.com</B></A>. </FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>