<!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 6.00.2800.1400" name=GENERATOR> <STYLE></STYLE> </HEAD> <BODY style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; BACKGROUND-COLOR: = #ffffff" bgColor=#ffffff> <DIV>Hello TP.  Have read your writings with interest and have a = question regarding a comment you make.  What are you refering to when you = say "Sure they pick the better of the production to be C&A".  What is C&A?</DIV> <DIV>Regards, Gordon Holley</DIV> <BLOCKQUOTE style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; = BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px"> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV> <DIV style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: = black"><B>From:</B> <A title=Topperpiano@aol.com href="mailto:Topperpiano@aol.com">Topperpiano@aol.com</A> </DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A = title=pianotech@ptg.org href="mailto:pianotech@ptg.org">pianotech@ptg.org</A> </DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Saturday, May 15, 2004 = 1:01 PM</DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Re: Lacquer fight!/ = Internal friction</DIV> <DIV><BR></DIV>Andre, Thanks for your response.  I really meant = that I just group piano hammers in two groups, <U>needle down</U> or = <U>juice up </U>and in no way meant to put words in your mouth.  I know there = are pretty distinct differences between the three in their materials = and sound but I should have made my statement more clear in that I expect = German or Asian hammers to be harder and I expect American Steinway hammers = to be much softer and needing some lacquer to function.  I don't = know if you see many of the smaller American Steinway, Ms and Ls over there = but they seem to be the ones that come from the factory needing the most attention.  Most of the larger pianos are coming in with more = power but in recent months I have hung German produced hammers on two very nice = B's that were less than 6 months old. The buyers just like the sound better and = both had already been juiced to the extinction of the power. I have on = occasion juiced hammers that were made in Asia, but only very sparingly on most = German brands because they already have some in them to begin with. The = Steinway pianos have already had some lacquer in the factory and = <EM>some</EM> don't need any more. But when you start with a new set you have to = really do some pretty radical manipulation. Part of the problem here in the = US is that we have a pretty unsophisticated sense of tonal aesthetic.  = Too many Americans have been bombarded with such bad piano sound that many do = not really have a sense of what good tone is.  For so many years we = have had such badly regulated, poorly voiced American pianos of several brands = that almost anything that is even to the touch and evenly voiced is = regarded as wonderful. The escalation of BRIGHT by the low end Asian = manufacturers has obliterated any sense of tone.  Just a couple of weeks = ago I was asked by a dealer to do some voicing to a Chinese piano because = it was not BRIGHT enough. In a voicing sense of course the problem was = not bright but a total lack of volume and decay. Many pianists here = complain about pianos being not bright enough when the problem is not one of timbre = but of substance. Not that I want you to suffer, Andre but I'll bet that = faced with a voicing project on a Kimball La Petite you would be reduced to = tears.  A perfect example is the ongoing debate among pianists who = believe that the Steinway concert grands that are used in New York and as station = pianos around the country are manufactured in a completely different way with = better materials and different soundboards, actions, hammers, etc.  When = you try to tell them that the only difference is that they have been voiced = and regulated they are incredulous.  Steinway has long maintained = that there is no difference but many pianists, salespeople and dealers alike just do not believe them.  I can tell you that they = are the one and the same instrument. Sure they pick the better of the = production to be C&A pianos.  Every company would want their best foot = forward.  But the reality is that many beautiful Steinway pianos are languishing = at the dealer level unpurchased because the dealer won't put 7-10 hours into them.  Rant for today. TP </BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>