<!doctype html public "-//w3c//dtd html 4.0 transitional//en"> <html> <body text="#000000" bgcolor="#FFFFFF" style="FONT-FAMILY: Times New Roman">   Farrell wrote: <blockquote TYPE=CITE><style></style> "Hmmm.. I wonder about this statement.  I have heard pianos that definantly improved with time. Not your heavily used instruments that get just plane beat to smitherins... but Intruments that get used a good deal, nicely as it were... and significantly (me thinks anyways..) they all seemed to have a pretty optimal environment." In the short term, yes, many variables. But take 100 hi-quality violins at  age 100 years and 100 hi-quality pianos at age 100 years. Which group sounds/plays most like they did when new - or better. I think the violins win. No?</blockquote> If thats true then we would have to ask ourselves why it is... and what immediatly comes to my mind is whether a piano can have anywhere near optimal climatic conditions combined with reasonably good maintanance over such a long time. Where as a violin may very easily have that kind of a life for so long a period. Its all probably moot anyways.  Who's going to provide those kind of conditions for a piano over so many years to find out... ? Talk about your time consuming experiment. Still.. its interesting to think about. -- Richard Brekne RPT, N.P.T.F. Bergen, Norway <A HREF="mailto:rbrekne@broadpark.no">mailto:rbrekne@broadpark.no</A>   </body> </html>