<!doctype html public "-//W3C//DTD W3 HTML//EN"> <html><head><style type="text/css"></style><title>Re: Interestingly Stable</title></head><body> <div>Hi Dave,</div> <div><br></div> <div>I seem to remember from your first post on this topic that the Kawai/Schiedmeyer in question was a grand? If so, do you remember the length of the piano and at which notes it crossed between the bass/treble bridges? I'd be interested to know.</div> <div><br></div> <div>I remember tuning just one of these Kawai/Schiedmeyer pianos<font color="#0000FF"> (a taller upright)</font> back around 1990. I was hoping to have been able to tune the same piano subsequently, but the opportunity didn't arise. The 'Schiedmeyer' upright piano I tuned had the bass/treble crossover at E32/F33, with log style scaling<font color="#0000FF"> (no annoying hockey stick end)</font>. I remember thinking what a revelation it was for Kawai to be making a taller upright with such an advanced scale. At the time, I expected that very soon the whole Kawai range would be built with similar decent scaling. I thought there would be no way they could miss noticing the improved tuning stability and tunability of the Schiedmeyer upright against their other production models.</div> <div><br></div> <div>Unfortunately, it would seem that no one from the Kawai design team was paying attention at the time<font color="#0000FF"> (or if there was any realization, that it was howled down by the heads of department)</font>. I find it extraordinary that a factory could build a well scaled instrument alongside their standard instruments without noticing the improved tuning stability and inharmonicity curve of superior scaling. Even today, fourteen years after witnessing the decent Schiedmeyer scale from the Kawai factory, the same old status quo crossover between Bfl26 and C28 on larger uprights remains<font color="#0000FF"> (complete with the ordinary tuning stability which is an inevitable consequence)</font>. And please do not assume that I am just Kawai bashing here. This scaling ignorance is endemic amongst the current crop of post 2000 manufacturers, right up to and including the high end maker which considers itself to be above the rest of us. When customers call me for advice about which upright piano they should purchase, I feel a sense desperation. There's not one manufacturer out there<font color="#0000FF"> (to my knowledge)</font> who builds an upright piano with a decent scale - its exasperating stuff.</div> <div><br></div> <div>Its extraordinary that this matter of scaling and tuning stability has been raised by many Pianotech list commentators, while attracting zero interest from the factory fraternity. Perhaps the mainstream designers have their heads so permanently stuck in their anechoic chambers, struggling to secure a minor performance improvement from their outdated designs that they're failing to hear any voices of dissent.</div> <div><br></div> <div>Often when I despair at the comatose which pervades the piano industry, I speculate on an analogous scenario which might exist in the motor industry. What if car makers were to aimlessly copy the T model Ford while assiduously studying ways to get better performance from the original design? Recently a correspondent emailed me from the UK regarding my opinion on scaling, suggesting that a certain manufacturer might be taking the attitude that "if it ain't broke, don't fix it". What rubbish! Show me a discipline in life where knowledge hasn't taken huge strides over the past century. Its time to give consideration to the various new designs which are coming along, and giving them an open minded assessment. The industry strangulation of the past century desperately needs to end.</div> <div><br></div> <div>And speaking of industry strangulation, but interestingly nonetheless;</div> <div><br></div> <div align="center"><b>The Sydney International Piano Competition</b></div> <div><br></div> <div>The Sydney International Piano Competition is in full swing at the ordinary-acoustic venue, the Seymour Center at Sydney University. Fortunately, the ABC's expert sound engineer, Alan Maclean, gets a respectable quality of broadcast sound despite the room<font color="#0000FF"> (thanks to the wonders of balancing microphone placement with the judicious use of electronic reverb)</font>. Anyhow, for those pianotech list subscribers who don't reside in Australia, you can hear every note of the Sydney Piano Competition via the ABC's website. For information on the 2004 Sydney International Piano Competition, go to;</div> <div><br></div> <div>http://www.abc.net.au/classic/sipca/</div> <div><br></div> <div>To listen live online, go to;</div> <div><br></div> <div>http://www.abc.net.au/classic/sipca/audio.htm</div> <div><br></div> <div>You can choose either Real Player or Windows media links. Listen with headphones if you have them.</div> <div><br></div> <div>There are three piano manufacturers represented at the Sydney piano competition, Kawai, Steinway and Yamaha. The piano being used is announced before each performance. I have been listening in. I'd be interested to hear list subscriber's response to the sound/characteristics of the pianos.</div> <div><br></div> <div>The playing is of an extraordinary standard, but I suspect that the flat acoustics of the venue may be part of the reason why the contestants seem to pushing the pianos too hard.</div> <div><br></div> <div>mailto:ron@overspianos.com.au</div> <div><br></div> <div>Ron O.</div> <x-sigsep><pre>-- </pre></x-sigsep> <div><font face="Times New Roman" size="+1" color="#0000FF"><b>OVERS PIANOS - SYDNEY</b></font></div> <div><font color="#000000"><i>   </i></font><font color="#0000FF"><i>Grand Piano Manufacturers</i></font><font color="#000000"><br> _______________________</font></div> <div><font size="-2" color="#000000"><br> </font><font color="#000000">Web http://overspianos.com.au</font></div> <div><font color="#000000">mailto:info@overspianos.com.au<br> _______________________</font></div> </body> </html>