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<DIV>
<DIV> David</DIV>
<DIV> Very Very well said. It's a keeper</DIV>
<DIV> Thank you</DIV>
<DIV> Dale Erwin</DIV>
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<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face=Arial color=navy size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: navy; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">It seems to me =
that
one problem here is that it is difficult to define what a genuine Steinway=
actually is. Aside from the inherent lack of uniformity that exists =
from
piano to piano, is it a piano from 1920 that happened to come out with a
fairly decently matched soundboard to scale and an extremely light and sof=
t
hammer to match it, or is it a 1990 piano that was horribly matched and ha=
d
hammers so full of lacquer that the hammer was more plastic than felt, or =
was
it the 1980 piano that happened to be using Renner parts out of the
factory? And this is before we’re even talking about the are=
as of the
piano that we all know commonly fail: fifth octaves that sound more like c=
lack
than bing, basses that sound like thud, duplex scales that zing and sizzle=
,
transitions between tenor and bass that just seem like they just canâ=
€™t be
coming from the same piano, actions that weigh off at 65 – 70
grams. The phrase “killer octave” didnâ€=
™t come from our perception
of a Story and Clark. </SPAN></FONT></P>
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style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: navy; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"></SPAN></FONT>&=
nbsp;</P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face=Arial color=navy size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: navy; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">What I see from=
the
rebuilders who are making modifications is that they are not departing fro=
m
the low tension scale characteristics that are typical of these instrument=
s,
though they are making small modifications to tweak and improve the
transitions and sometimes they are adding third bridges (as many Steinways=
had
in the past) to better maintain log progressions through the sections.&nbs=
p;
They are not altering the hard bent rim which helps to accommodate a fairl=
y
thin panel typical of these instruments, though they are adding some braci=
ng
to beef up where the frame is somewhat weak. They are designing
soundboard assemblies to better match the low tension scales so that oppos=
ing
springs are more compatible as they were probably intended to be. Th=
ey
are designing assemblies with new rib scales and shaping elements in order=
to
produce more predictable and dependable results and correct weaknesses in
various areas in both the treble and bass (please don’t tell me th=
at an O has
a lovely bass until you’ve heard one with a modified bass bridge a=
nd
float). They are putting softer hammers on these (which produc=
e
plenty of volume) to match the scale and panel/rib assembly and are much m=
ore
characteristic of the Steinway hammers from the 1920s, not hard and heavy
Renner or Abel hammers as we are so often seeing, or the relatively
unpredictable and lacquer driven hammers of recent times. They are
producing pianos with a warm tone that have a natural pianissimo as well a=
s a
forte and might very well be more aligned with the overall tonal
characteristics of the early Steinways (before the boards failed) than a l=
ot
of what I see and hear now out of the factory or the shops of some
rebuilders. </SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face=Arial color=navy size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: navy; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"></SPAN></FONT>&=
nbsp;</P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face=Arial color=navy size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: navy; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">All in all, who=
is to
say that these modifications don’t, in fact, help to capture more =
predictably
the sound (without the bugs) that made Steinway what it was originally
intended to be and that we have all but forgotten about through there dark=
er
periods or through the more recent attempt to become the Yamaha—bi=
gger,
brighter and louder—of the west. When asking what a ge=
nuine
Steinway is, I think one first has to look at the fundamental aspects of r=
im
and scale and go from there. It might just be that those two things,=
when all things are taken into consideration, narrow your reasonable choic=
es
considerably. The characteristic of the genuine Steinway sound=
is
hard if not impossible to identify because among Steinways, the sound vari=
es
considerably with many failures in all parts of the scale not to mention t=
he
hammers (pay a visit your local dealer and try a dozen or so and
compare). As someone who embraces these modifications, I am not look=
ing
for a non-Steinway sound per se. I am looking for the best aspects o=
f
the sound produced by that type of scale in that type of structure and I w=
ant
the best possible sound and balance in all areas of the scale. If it=
takes these modifications to achieve that predictably and consistently, th=
en
I’m all for it. To me, it’s the person who wants the=
big, bright, ear
popping percussive sound that they identify as Steinway who is not looking=
for
a “genuine Steinway”. They should be shopping for a =
Yamaha (and I mean
that with all due respect to Yamaha—it’s just another
choice).</SPAN></FONT></P>
<DIV>
<P><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=navy size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: navy">David Love</SPAN></FONT><FONT color=
=navy
size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: navy"><BR>davidlovepianos@comcast.net
</SPAN></FONT></P></DIV>
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