<html> <head> <meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=ISO-8859-1"> </head> <body bgcolor="#FFFFFF" text="#000000"> This  week I visited a new client who also happened to have one of the old Fender-Rhodes electro-acoustic pianos, as described in Reblitz.  I've tuned a couple over the years.  This one didn't need tuning (and the client's old overdamper piano was sadly beyond it).  But I was struck, on playing the Fender-Rhodes, not having played one for years, by the fact that it's quite satisfying to play. As most will know, there is a mechanical action involving little hammers striking metal tines. The sound is produced mechanically, as it is in an acoustic piano. And as it is not in a digital piano. This made me think again about the "missing element" of playing pleasure in even the best of the digital pianos. Even with weighted keys, touch sensitivity etc, there is a missing element, something you don't get back, physically.  And from the Fender Rhodes, for all that the actions get pretty poor with age, you do. It may be something to do with lack of set-off/escapement in the digital keyboard but I think it's more than that, really. Best regards, David. </body> </html>