<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN"> <HTML xmlns="http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40" xmlns:o = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" xmlns:w = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:word"><HEAD> <META http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; = charset=iso-8859-1"> <META content=Word.Document name=ProgId> <META content="MSHTML 6.00.2800.1400" name=GENERATOR> <META content="Microsoft Word 9" name=Originator><LINK href="cid:filelist.xml@01C46E48.705E5EB0" rel=File-List> <STYLE>@font-face { font-family: Comic Sans MS; } @page Section1 {size: 8.5in 11.0in; margin: 1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; = mso-header-margin: .5in; mso-footer-margin: .5in; mso-paper-source: 0; } P.MsoNormal { FONT-SIZE: 12pt; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; FONT-FAMILY: "Times New Roman"; = mso-style-parent: ""; mso-pagination: widow-orphan; = mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman" } LI.MsoNormal { FONT-SIZE: 12pt; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; FONT-FAMILY: "Times New Roman"; = mso-style-parent: ""; mso-pagination: widow-orphan; = mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman" } DIV.MsoNormal { FONT-SIZE: 12pt; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; FONT-FAMILY: "Times New Roman"; = mso-style-parent: ""; mso-pagination: widow-orphan; = mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman" } P.MsoAutoSig { FONT-SIZE: 12pt; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; FONT-FAMILY: "Times New Roman"; = mso-pagination: widow-orphan; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman" } LI.MsoAutoSig { FONT-SIZE: 12pt; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; FONT-FAMILY: "Times New Roman"; = mso-pagination: widow-orphan; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman" } DIV.MsoAutoSig { FONT-SIZE: 12pt; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; FONT-FAMILY: "Times New Roman"; = mso-pagination: widow-orphan; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman" } SPAN.EmailStyle15 { COLOR: navy; mso-style-type: personal-reply; mso-ansi-font-size: = 10.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Arial; mso-hansi-font-family: Arial; = mso-bidi-font-family: Arial } DIV.Section1 { page: Section1 } </STYLE> </HEAD> <BODY lang=EN-US style="tab-interval: .5in" bgColor=#ffffff> <DIV>I think we also tend to forget that = major piano manufacturers are factories that produce a product and they try to sell = as many of them that they can. Not unlike automobiles. There are some, perhaps = like Yamaha and Kawai that target a very wide swath of the piano consuming = public - much like Ford, GM and Toyota. And there are others such as Bosendorfer, = Fazioli and Mason and Hamlin that target a narrow segment of the piano buying = public - much like Ferrari and Lamborghini.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Now if the average piano-playing Joe on = the street has some money and wants a great piano, he might go and buy a = Bosendorfer or a Fazioli. If Joe wants a fast car he might go buy a Ferrari or a Lamborghini. But if Joe is a professional race car driver - or even a = serious amateur race car driver, where does he go for a really fast = car? Well, he might buy that Corvette of Ferrari, but he takes it right over to his = favorite hi-performance race car mechanic who strips the car down, does = a bunch of modifications and rebuilds it so that it is really = fast. Recently I read an article in Road & Track about buying a new $200K = Ferrari and doing just that to it - taking it all apart and improving the = suspension, the drive train, the engine, etc. Even makers of super high-performance automobiles such as Ferrari and Lamborghini make many concessions in the = design and construction of their cars to appeal to a target swath of the = public. They simply cannot build the fastest car possible and stay in business - they = would only sell a couple dozen of them.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Any serious race car enthusiast knows = perfectly well that if you want to win a race, you will not do it in a car = straight from any factory.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>What makes pianos any = different?</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>I suspect we should stop belly-aching = about why don't piano manufacturers build better pianos - I think that is just = part of how it is and will always be. I think we should rejoice that we can do = things that a factory simply cannot do. </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>I respect Henry Ford for his inventions = and ingenuity, but I'm also glad those that followed him in the automobile = industry realized his product could be improved upon. I have all the respect in = the world for the 1890s designers at Steinway, Mason and Hamlin, Bosendorfer, = etc., but I still don't see how that should keep us from building a better piano.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Terry Farrell</DIV> <BLOCKQUOTE dir=ltr style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; = BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px"> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"> </DIV> <DIV class=Section1> >>Just to give an alternative = viewpoint, no hard feelings :) <snip><o:p></o:p> I've read through many postings on this list from Del and a somewhat lesser = amount of postings from Ron O. (and some excellent rebuttals!), and I have no = doubt they are both skilled and deserve respect. But I think those at Steinway, = Mason and Hamlin, Bosendorfer, etc., deserve at least as much respect. - John <<<<o:p></o:p><![if = !supportEmptyParas]><![endif]> <![if !supportEmptyParas]><![endif]><o:p></o:p> <![if = !supportEmptyParas]><![endif]> <o:p></o:p> What’s being left out of the = discussion on why it is hard to implement changes in piano design is how pianos = are marketed and sold. Pianos are sold by piano salesmen, most of whom = know very little about pianos, but they can parrot selling features. They are = sold to a customer who usually has even less knowledge of pianos, most of whom = have no idea on what a good piano sounds like, a customer who has probably = played less than a dozen pianos in his entire life.  In such a climate, name = recognition, perceived reputation and mystique reign supreme. Innovations are = ridiculed as unproven.<o:p></o:p> <![if = !supportEmptyParas]><![endif]> <o:p></o:p> Dean<o:p></o:p> <![if = !supportEmptyParas]><![endif]> <o:p></o:p> Dean May             cell 812.239.3359<o:p></o:p> PianoRebuilders.com   = 812.235.5272<o:p></o:p> Terre Haute IN  47802<o:p></o:p> <![if = !supportEmptyParas]><![endif]> <o:p></o:p><= /DIV></BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>