<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN"> <html> <head> <META HTTP-EQUIV="Content-Type" CONTENT="text/html; = charset=us-ascii"> <meta name=Generator content="Microsoft Word 10 (filtered)"> <style>  </style> </head> <body bgcolor=white lang=EN-US link=blue vlink=purple> <div class=Section1>     -----Original = Message----- From: = pianotech-bounces@ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces@ptg.org] On Behalf Of Robert Goodale Sent: Tuesday, April 15, 2003 3:23 = PM To: pianotech@ptg.org Subject: Why is it = that...?   <div> Why is it = that...  A collection of = rhetorical questions regarding stupid things that piano companies have done.  = (No particular reason for this, just something to make fun = of). </div> <div>   </div> <div> Tom = Driscoll answers select questions below. </div> <div> Why is it = that.... </div> <div> 1.  Yamaha puts such ridiculous tiny = brass wheels on the U1 that they serve no purpose in moving the piano? Answer: It’s too heavy to move = anyway </div> <div> 2.  Steinway can't grasp the concept = that the sostanuto rail belongs in the piano and not on the action? =           Answer: completes the circle of sound </div> <div> 3.  Some makers both today and = yesterday don't machine the plate bridge so that it has a defined termination = point? </div> <div> 4.  Some Asian companies, (at least in = the past), don't allow room between the strings and plate for a temperament = strip? </div> <div> 5.  Baldwin doesn't miter the ribs on = their uprights so that they don't come loose in humid = climates? </div> <div> 6.  Yamaha and Kawai insufficiently = glue the dowels that hold the removable front in place so that they = inevitably fall out? </div> <div> 7.  Samick doesn't understand that in order keep grands from wobbling you must use sufficient glue in the = leg joints?    =   Answer: Piano makes a great martini shaker </div> <div> 8.  Kimball used such flimsy bracing on = some smaller uprights that you could alter the pitch just by lifting on = the keybed? Answer: Tighten = the mezzo thermonial stabilizer </div> <div> 9.  QRS thinks that a sustain solenoid = should be an option and that somehow "magic fingers" will sound the = same? Answer: Who cares? It’s a = player </div> <div> 10.  The Kincade/Grand piano company = thought standard plywood from a lumber yard was sufficient for a soundboard?  Answer: They didn’t want to outclass = the rest of the piano </div> <div> 11.  In the 1970s Wurlitzer forgot that = pin blocks must be glued into the piano so that they don't separate from the = back? Answer: Glue is = expensive </div> <div> 12.  PianoDisc can't make an operating system that will read general midi 1 format and not just midi 0?Answer:See #9 </div> <div> 13.  Everett decided that the best way to secure the top = of an upright piano was to use hex head screws?  : Answer: No joke here---Just good = security </div> <div> 14.  Some 1970's consoles have = tenor tuning pins so close together that you can't get a tuning hammer on = them?  Answer: It’s a = lever not a hammer </div> <div> 15.  = Various manufacturers built the case in such a way that you can't get a tuning hammer on the bottom = 'A' pin?Answer: See = #14 </div> <div> 16.  Some mute rails are so poorly = designed they can't be adjusted to work when they should and not when they = shouldn't? </div> <div> 17.  Key buttons were omitted in Whitney = spinets to save money but inevitably resulted in wobbly keys? Answer: Same as many other = makers </div> <div> 18.  Kimball thought that inventing the = "Le Petite" grand was a good idea? Answer: It’s so cute! </div> <div> 19.  Baldwin decided that the top of a = Hamilton should open like a Pontiac? Answer: I like that idea. If only the fallboard was as easy to get = out! </div> <div> 20.  Story & Clark proudly = boasted about their CFS scale but the sound still sucked? Answer Perhaps it means: Chuck F ***ing = Sucks? </div> <div> 21.  Aeolian thought that key weights = should be placed on both sides of the balance rail pin? Answer: Symmetry </div> <div> 22.  Wurlitzer came up with the = idea of the ever fashionable naugahide cases? Answer: Don’t Knock the = Fifties! </div> <div> 23.  If at first you don't succeed, how = about naming it "Betsy Ross"? Answer: When in doubt wave the first = flag! </div> <div> 24.  Any company that has a decal of a = gold medal from some exhibition is automatically assumed superior? Answer: By whom? </div> <div> 25.  Particle board is not only used in = pianos construction but is still proudly advertised as "solid = wood"? Answer: Well it was = once! </div> <div>   </div> <div>   </div> <div> Okay, your turn, I've only scratched the = surface here. </div> <div>   </div> <div> Rob Goodale, RPT </div> <div> Las Vegas, NV </div> </div> </body> </html>