<html xmlns:v="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:vml" xmlns:o="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" xmlns:w="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:word" xmlns:m="http://schemas.microsoft.com/office/2004/12/omml" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40"><head><meta http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=us-ascii"><meta name=Generator content="Microsoft Word 12 (filtered medium)"><style></style></head><body lang=EN-US link=blue vlink=purple><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'>I think you are being unrealistic.  Can we expect to see on your website that “there are many rebuilders around the area and country who do work just as good as ours but we hope you’ll choose us?”  I doubt it.  Would you want someone stretching strings over every rebuild/redesign that you’ve done and drawing conclusions about the rest of your work based on that one piano?  Although I do agree they would have been smart to send a piano that they felt represented their best work.    <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'>It’s no coincidence, in my opinion, that this marketing strategy by Steinway comes on the heels of much discussion and promulgation of new designs and fairly radical changes to the status quo.  While I don’t want to get into arguing the merits of all those design changes (people can judge for themselves) there’s no question, that if you radically reshape the panel, add six to eight ribs and increase rib stiffness and crown considerably, etc, etc, that you will be changing the character of the piano and it’s more change than just a Steinway without the warts.  It’s different.  I think Steinway is reacting to that and I think it’s within their purview to do that.  <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'>I don’t happen to agree with them on everything that they post in that ad and further, it’s no secret, I think there are some things to criticize about their current and historical production and designs.  Some things they abandoned, some they didn’t.  I’ve discussed recently, for example, my problems with NY Improved parts, especially pinning and bushing cloth.  I agree it’s also the case that compression crowning comes with some risks, as David Hughes adroitly pointed out in this month’s journal article.   He also points out, correctly I believe, that compression crowning does produce a certain liveliness, even though the longevity can be unreliable.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'>I also think that if the design change line had been drawn at doing Steinways with precrowned ribs and somewhat less compression (like the Hamburg pianos are done) without attacking virtually every aspect of their designs including scales, bridges, hitch pins, counterbearing bars, cut-off bars (or lack thereof), belly bracing, the list is endless, that such a response by them might not have been forthcoming.  <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'>Admittedly, I engaged in some of those criticisms myself, until I built enough pianos both ways, and I now think many of the criticisms achieved proportions far beyond any reality.    <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'>This is not to say, in case there is any confusion about my intent here, that many of those changes don’t produce acceptable results, even steer the piano in a direction that some might find desirable.  But we shouldn’t confuse that with simple improvements in production reliability and wart removal.  Executed to the full extent, they can represent real changes in character and I think Steinway is reacting to that.  I think not only are they are within their right to do that but we might only have ourselves to blame.  <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'>David Love<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'>www.davidlovepianos.com<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><div style='border:none;border-top:solid #B5C4DF 1.0pt;padding:3.0pt 0in 0in 0in'><p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'>From:</span></b><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'> pianotech-bounces@ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces@ptg.org] <b>On Behalf Of </b>Dale Erwin<br><b>Sent:</b> Friday, October 19, 2012 9:55 AM<br><b>To:</b> gnewell@ameritech.net; pianotech@ptg.org<br><b>Subject:</b> Re: [pianotech] who pays?<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:12.0pt'><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Comic Sans MS";color:navy'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Comic Sans MS";color:navy'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><div id="AOLMsgPart_1_447e5a16-8055-47a5-8a17-1d60f084b3f9"><div><div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:navy'> Question; If the factory rebuild carries the same quality and warranty as new, why should anyone ever buy a new piano? (</span><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:mediumblue'>They aren't. In this economy, there buying used and rebuilt.)</span><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:navy'>Aren't they kind of shooting themselves in the foot here?----Greg</span><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Comic Sans MS";color:navy'><o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:mediumblue'> Yes, they shoots themselves and certainly without our help</span><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Comic Sans MS";color:navy'><o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:mediumblue'>  Dennis E., Ron N and I looked at an A-2 in Rochester 2005 that had been just restored in the Stwy Restoration center and was on display there. We ran a crown string across the bottom and no residual crown. We discovered it had a freshly oil canned Genuine Steinway built soundboard and it sounded very unmusical. It had all genuine Steinway parts. Enough said.</span><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Comic Sans MS";color:navy'><o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:mediumblue'>  I guess I'm ticked because the marketing is personally insulting to me and many, many of you. </span><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Comic Sans MS";color:navy'><o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:mediumblue'>  </span><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Comic Sans MS";color:navy'><o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:mediumblue'>Just imagine the good will they could engender by spinning it differently, by saying there are quite a few small shops around the country doing a very admirable job of rebuilding our pianos ( and Large. ie. Ac pianocraft, Faust Harrison, Pianocraft (Keith Kerman) in Maryland). How about encouraging techs to use their parts instead of being so pedantic, heavy handed and isolationist.</span><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Comic Sans MS";color:navy'><o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:mediumblue'> </span><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Comic Sans MS";color:navy'><o:p></o:p></span></p></div></div></div></div></div></body></html>