<!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 5.50.4134.600" name=GENERATOR> <STYLE></STYLE> </HEAD> <BODY bgColor=#ffffff> <DIV> </DIV> <BLOCKQUOTE dir=ltr style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; = BORDER-LEFT: #000080 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px"> <BLOCKQUOTE dir=ltr style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; = BORDER-LEFT: #000080 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px" TYPE="CITE"> <DIV style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: = black">From: <A title=rbrekne@broadpark.no = href="mailto:rbrekne@broadpark.no">Richard Brekne</A></DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">To: <A = title=pianotech@ptg.org href="mailto:pianotech@ptg.org">pianotech@ptg.org</A></DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">Sent: September 21, 2001 = 12:13 AM</DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">Subject: Re: 1 string, 2 = strings, 3 strings or more</DIV>  Well... here (in this scaling issue) you seem to think more like = the technician / engineer... and play up all those incidents of where = your technical insights coincide with comments you hear from = musicians.... and you apparently include ..what ... all pianists ?? Re read your lines = if you will.. I include those musicians with which I have = had experience. I can't speak for any others.   =   <BLOCKQUOTE>>>Depends on whether or not those defects of = character are audibly >>offensive to the musician. If they are I = see no reason for it to carry on >>for another 100 years offending = the very folks it's supposed to be >>pleasing when a new bridge(s) = and some revised scaling can solve >>most of the = problem.</BLOCKQUOTE>This was why I asked for clarification you see. No, I don't = see.</BLOCKQUOTE> Well, what can I say... er... = uhhhh... most people I meet seem to report  a more varied experience. = </BLOCKQUOTE> That's quite a few, actually. I did a = fair amount of so-called concert work for both Steinway and Baldwin during the 1970s = and 1980s meeting and working with most of the international and national = artists active through that time. While I was with Baldwin I met and worked with = quite a few more. How many in all? I've no idea--I didn't count. Subsequent = to that, while we were building our vertical, I met and worked with many = more musicians from all over the world--roughly 2,000 a year who came to = visit our factory plus a fair number I encountered at various exhibitions. None of = this includes the numerous technicians I've encountered in the hundreds of = classes I've given over the years in the U.S., Canada and elsewhere. Now, does every musician I've ever = encountered report the same experience? Or complain about the same things? No, of = course not. But, over the years enough have done so to make me start to wonder = about the status quo.... And, enough to make me start to work.... = I realize this exposure to the = musicians of the world is still limited, but I must work with what I have. Sorry it = doesn't qualify as adequate in your view.   Here I am in = disagreement with the most of what you say. I do not aggree that performance is not = related to price, or where instruments are made from. My clients.... = musicians.... in general think Steinways have the best sound and performance around... = tho they often wince at the price tag, and just about all of them have a = different idea of how they are to be voiced or just how the touch is supposed to feel. = You're entitled to your opinion. Just = don't complain when someone buys a Petrof because they actually like the way = it sounds and when they are willing to accept the mechanical limitations of the = instrument to get that sound. The mechanical limitations, after all, can mostly be = overcome by a reasonably accomplished technician. The folks buying these pianos = based on their performance are also entitled to their opinions. And if they = manage to save a few thousand in the process...so what? Good for them. I still maintain that a well designed = inexpensive piano can/will outperform a poorly designed expensive one. It's just = that there is a dearth of well designed pianos available in any price range. (At = least by 2001 design standards. There are quite a few well designed pianos by = 1901 standards.)        Well, I = could say something like "Your well publicized contempt for Steinway has been a = matter of record for sometime. How do you like it eh ?".... but I wont. = That's good, because I don't have any = contempt for Steinway or for their pianos. I just wish the performance of the = Steinway piano lived up to it's marketing a bit more consistently. I also believe = our industry--including, but not limited to Steinway--can do better. In = fact, I believe if it to survive as an industry, it must. Del</BODY></HTML>