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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Hi Ryan,</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV>>I knew I'd get in trouble for my comments! : )</DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>And indeed you did! ;-) =
Your preference
for free-swinging hammers is absolutely wrong-headed. it flies in =
the face
of what almost every technician will tell you -- that friction is a =
*good*
thing.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Having said that, I'll side with you =
and Horowitz
on this one. To me, frictiony hammers are like a new pair of =
tennis
shoes. They're not yet in their prime. Surely we aren't the =
only
ones who have this bizarre preference. However, it's a preference =
that is
perhaps as gauche as preferring a frosty glass of Coca Cola to a fine
wine. Me? I'm Sarah Fox, and I'm a Cocaholic.
</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>In this world, people are all too timid =
to state
their preferences -- all too prepared to be told they are wrong. =
These are
the same people who accept that this or that cannot be done. I =
guess I
learned long ago not to listen to people who told me I was foolish or
wrong. Learning to listen to myself and regard my own thoughts as =
valid is
the single, most important factor underlying what successes I have had =
in my
life. (How else would a dyslexic, ADD kid who was identified =
in the
first grade as mentally retarded go on to get her Ph.D. and make a few
contributions to the field of theoretical bioacoustics that =
everyone told
her were theoretically impossible?) I would suggest the same thing =
was
true for one very celebrated (but wrongheaded) Russian pianist, not to =
mention
other notables, such as a wacko German physicist, also "mentally =
retarded," who
changed the way we look at the universe. I'm am grateful that =
there are at
least a few people who don't listen when others tell them they're
wrong.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Rather than for others to harp on why =
you are
wrong, it would be wonderful if discussion were to center on overcoming =
the
challenges, if any, of a low-friction action -- or on what the tradeoffs =
are
with other parameters of the action.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Finally, you are quite right about the =
difference
between "free" and "loose." If you were to equip those hammer =
shanks with
high-quality ceramic bearings, they would be both rock-solid and
slippery-free. Perhaps Steinway wasn't entirely on the wrong track =
with
their teflon bushings. Perhaps it was simply a good idea, poorly
implemented, and ahead of its time. I wonder if we shouldn't give =
it
another go -- this time with teflon-lined carbon fiber flanges and
shanks?</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Yours in peace and heresy,</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Sarah</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
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