<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN"> <HTML><HEAD> <META http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; = charset=iso-8859-1"> <META content="MSHTML 6.00.2800.1126" name=GENERATOR></HEAD> <BODY> <DIV>Hi Andre,</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>I totally agree with you that Rippen pianos are very strongly build, and = indeed they have a nice tone, without much reaction during the dry winters, for = the few I service sometime.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>A number of interesting development for sure. The Rippens I have seen = before where often rented, because of their longevity. a few are in schools, still = alive and doing their job.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>I like their tone, don't know the grand models actually, I may have tuned a few = but did not remember well about them.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Well for a piano not build in France it is not too bad in the end <G></DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Best</DIV> Isaac OLEG Entretien et réparation de pianos. PianoTech 17 rue de Choisy 94400 VITRY sur SEINE FRANCE tel : 033 01 47 18 06 98 fax : 033 01 47 18 06 = 90 cell: 06 60 42 58 77 <BLOCKQUOTE style="PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #0000ff 2px = solid"> <DIV class=OutlookMessageHeader dir=ltr align=left>-----Message d'origine----- De : pianotech-bounces@ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces@ptg.org]De la = part de antares@euronet.nl Envoyé : samedi 7 juin 2003 = 18:50 À : Pianotech Objet : Re: Rippen = opinions, please! </DIV>Gordon, here is a an e-mail about Rippen I = sent a long time ago : <TT><?fontfamily><?param Courier = New> List, The Rippen factory was originally a Dutch piano factory in a place = called Ede, in the center of Holland. Everybody always made fun of the Rippen = products (including me) because in Holland there is a deep rooted feeling = that everything outside this Country is automatically better and superior. -It is a Dutch phenomenon that if anybody in this = Country has earned a somewhat higher status and/or makes much more money than = the neighbor, then he/she has to watch out and take care not to stick = out too much. There is a Dutch saying "Hoge bomen vangen veel wind" which translates : "tall trees catch a lot of wind". In regard to this = I would recommend reading Simon Schama's book 'the embarrassment of riches' = which gives a superior and detailed account of Holland in the 17th = century (Golden age) and it gives us an extensive image of the Dutch psyche. Aside from that, it is a very well written book and a great = pleasure to read When I started working as an apprentice for = one of the leading firms here in Amsterdam, I was for the first time in my = life confronted with products of the Rippen factory. As I had no = actual knowledge yet, nor a developed taste in piano sound, I could not = really distinguish good from bad or beautiful from less = beautiful. However, this period lasted for about a year, and slowly but surely I was able to = tell the differences between all the pianos sold there. This big firm = does not exist anymore, but at the time (30 years ago) they had in their = assortment : Bechstein, Yamaha, Feurich, Schimmel, Sauter, Petrof, Rösler, = Förster, Brinsmead, Kemble, Welmar, and Rippen. The Rippens were quite = popular because the price was right, they had a very good bass, a reliable = Renner and/or Langer action and rather remarkable construction. They were = further used over and over again as piano rentals because they proved to be = very strong and reliable simplicity What then was so remarkable = about their construction? Well, in the uprights : 1. the ribs in the = older models were on the inside of the soundboard, 2. the soundboard was = therefor not convex but concave and a dry winter caused the soundboard to = give more 'down bearing' instead of the ususal opposite, 3. the soundboard = was not glued to the rim in the bass section, cusing a very very beautiful = and interesting bass, 4. the soundboards were laminated with three = spruce layers, 5. the angle of the grain varied by a degree of 90 degrees. in the grand : 1. the rim was medal of = metal, 2. the soundboard was not glued onto the rim, but screwed tight, 3. the soundboards were laminated with three spruce layers, 4. the = soundboards were laminated with three spruce layers, 5. the angle of the grain = varied by a degree of 90 degrees. 6. there was no real distinction in = character between bass and treble. Then there was another and highly = daring development in the line of upright models : an upright in the shape = of a grand...a vertical grand piano like the old giraffes but then shorter. The action was really weird, like a fan and the case was = funny too as it was possible to lift the whole grand shaped top lid from the instrument, in order to work on it (tune, regulate etc). All = these developments took place decades ago, in the 19th Century. It was in = the end a failure, financially speaking, but it shows that behind all this = was the head of a true inventor. Inventors often need guidance in their = financial cares. A good Dutch example is airplane maker Fokker : in the last = stages of development (actually only a few years ago) they built = outstanding airplanes with revolutionary gluing techniques and electronics. = They went down because of their succes. Another highly respected person is = the old Mr, van Doorne, the inventor of the fully automatic auto = transmission with the aid of a metallic tape or ribbon consisting of metal links. = Because of technical production difficulties the factory went broke a number = of times and in the end his invention was bought up, improved, and used - = world wide - by other auto makers. It is a story told many times = over. In the piano industry too there were quite a number of great inventors with very remarkable 'finds'. Mr. Rippen was a small and humble inventor, but one of 'them' nevertheless. One of our respected colleagues here in Holland has worked in the Rippen factory. His = name is Rudyard Billenkamp and he is willing to share his (initial) = technical Rippen background with all. His e-mail address is = : <?color><?param = 0000,0000,FFFF>rudyard@euronet.nl<?/color> friendly greetings from Antares, Amsterdam, = Holland "where music is, no harm can be"<?/fontfamily></TT> On = zaterdag, jun 7, 2003, at 17:47 Europe/Amsterdam, gordon stelter wrote: <BLOCKQUOTE>Dear list, There is a 1984, 42"(?) Rippen upright for = sale in the paper. I know that these have been mentioned on the = list from time to time, but I forget the gist of the comments. Please tell = me what you think of these pianos. Sincerely, Gordon Stelter __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Calendar - Free online calendar with sync to = Outlook(TM). http://calendar.yahoo.com ____________________________= ___________________ pianotech list info: = https://www.moypiano.com/resources/#archives </BLOCKQUOTE><BR= > Antares, The Netherlands see my website at : www.concertpianoservice.nl </BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>