<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN"> <HTML><HEAD> <META http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=US-ASCII"> <META content="MSHTML 6.00.2900.2523" name=GENERATOR></HEAD> <BODY id=role_body style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: #000000; FONT-FAMILY: = Arial" bottomMargin=7 leftMargin=7 topMargin=7 rightMargin=7> <DIV> <DIV>      Rick</DIV> <DIV>  Well ,.......Thanks for t= he kind & supportive words. JMHO & the truth as I have experienced   it.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV> Sincerely</DIV> <DIV>  Dale Erwin</DIV> <BLOCKQUOTE style="PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: blue 2px solid"><= FONT style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent" face=Arial color=#000000 size=2>Dale I have read and enjoyed greatly so very very many of = your postings through the years since you popped up here. But I gota say th= at this post, which I reprint below, is the absolute best to come off you= r keyboard yet IMHO.  I know I have a tendancy to sound a bit more crass then I mean to be,  and often find others expressing meanin= gs I share in so much better fashion then I am capable of doing. This posti= ng is about as perfect an example of this as I've ever seen.  Thanks= ever so muchly for taking the time to put this piece together.  Ozzzes with positivism, optimism... looking forwardism with bright eyesims... :) I dare say, if ever any of these alternative methods tow= ards approaching the task of fitting the piano with its heart will win the = day over the domination of Steinways <<way>> as it were (embra= ced for whatever reasons by so many) It will be because of builders who pu= sh onwards with the attitude exressed below.   I raise my glass= , tip my hat, and bow respectfully. Sincerely RicB  &n= bsp; Horace & all   Actually this is SO  TRUE. Exposure is a&n= bsp; problem. Access to any type redesigned boards, in any  configurat= ion any where, is hard to come by. The first rib & CC crowned  bo= ard I ever heard was at Ken Hannahs shop in Stillwater Minnisota Many years  ago. At the time This just wasn't being done on the west c= oast in any numbers by  any one. I had to travel that far for mentoring &a= mp; exposure to new  boards.   The first Lam panel & rib crowned design combination I  had seen at convention was brought = to Reno at great cost by Ron  O.   The "Overs" piano  was= a pure & clear sounding  beauty & beautiful to look at as w= ell. I still remember that plate in  polished acrlic enamel The sound & the new Action. Quite impressive in all  respects..Thanks Ron   My point is I've been building boards for a while & I've= seen  precious few done by any one else in any form. So to see a = new ,redesign or rib  crowned board etc I've had to go to conventions= primarily for this  kind of thing.   So, is it any wonder tha= t the experience of most technicians  Including me are with purely vintage type C.C. crowned boards let  alone rib crowned or lam/ri= b crowned. We  all  as techs have  relatively little to compa= re to.   Even the recent discussion of rib crowned or  rib crow= ned plus  C.C. or complete redesign have even suffered a bit of deris= ion here on the  list amongst the brethren. And some  skeptism w= as heard , & probably  rightly so,as to whether these new design= s possibly being as Magic as the  predominantly made  & pu= rely Compression Crowned boards we all have  seen all of our carreers. If = one has nothing to compare too how can an opinion  be formed? &nbs= p; Our new age thinking on all these matters has a long way to  travel e= ven in our own technical community let alone marketing offices  etc. IMO , & Possibly the most forward thinking  R.D in the&nb= sp; piano world today is being done by small shops not large Manufacturers= . Will  that ever translate to different choices in the Market plac= e?? If so  slowly. Until then I'll take every opportunity get some exposure to  other folks piano designs & rebuilt pianos.   So for now, I believe the best value added pianos availa= ble to  your clients is quite possibly the ones being rebuilt well by= small shops &  small Manufactutreres &  IMO is a tru= ly value added  product. Forgive my shameless biased opinion. &nb= sp;   By Rebuilt " The Valued Added Piano"      Dale Erwin    My Restored Stwy D will be at convention for purview  & in Concert with Pianist Richard Glazier Sat At 4 p= m At Calif  convention Feb 10 thru 12 CSU Sac.    &nb= sp; Erwins Pianos Restorations 4721 Parker Rd. Modesto,  Ca 95357 209-577-8397 Rebuilt Steinway , Mason &Hamlin  Sales www.Erwinspiano.com ---------------------- multipart/alternative attachment</BLOCKQUOTE></DIV> <DIV></DIV> <DIV> </DIV></BODY></HTML>