<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN"> <HTML><HEAD> <META http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; = charset=windows-1252"> <META content="MSHTML 5.50.4134.600" name=GENERATOR> <STYLE></STYLE> </HEAD> <BODY bgColor=#ffffff> <DIV><FONT color=#000080>Ok. I admit I'm taking the following out of = context, but I wanted to get the subject line changed and this seemed an easy way = to do it.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT color=#000080></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT color=#000080>I wrote:<BR></FONT><FONT = color=#000080><FONT color=#000080><EM>Does it come as a surprise to you that technically = sound pianos are also pianos that sound good? The reason I started looking at = the design of pianos in the first place was because my = clients--musicians--were complaining about the tonal performance of their highly regarded S&S = pianos. And I started thinking about the differences between reputation and = performance. The two are quite unrelated, you know. Also unrelated are selling price = and performance. And country of origin and performance. And a few other = things we've come to accept as gospel in the face of overwhelming evidence to the = contrary. The things that are related are good design and good performance.</EM></FONT></DIV> <DIV> <P>To which Richard Brekne replied:<BR><EM>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. </EM></P></FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT color=#000080>Now, what I'd like to consider is the following:</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT color=#000080>Has anyone else noticed the evolution of = Young Chang of late as defined by their Pramberger Platinum Edition Grand Piano series? = The results of Joe Pramberger's work with Y-C is now becoming evident and increasingly they are taking on the overall flavor of Steinway pianos. = I've not actually measured any of their new scales as yet, but they appear to be = some similar. Their front and back string duplexing is much like that of = S&S. Their soundboards are now fully diaphragmed following almost exactly the = specifications of S&S, though, apparently, with crowned ribs. = It is not clear to me if their boards are fully rib-crowned or some mix of = rib-crowning and compression-crowning. Their bridges are now built, undercut and = notched much like those of S&S. Their inner rims are now made of maple = though the outer rim is of some other hardwood--nyatoh, according to their = brochure. They are even using spruce bellybracing laid out much like that of S&S = and coming together in a 'Tone Collector.' And where did that come from? Their keys = are now spruce and, sadly, are individually weighed off just like S&S. = </FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT color=#000080></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT color=#000080>So, what's left to copy, er, design? Well, = the elegance of the S&S rim for one thing, but not much else. That is a pretty significant exception, though. Anyway, it's what I'd expect to see if = S&S chose to go for somewhat higher production. </FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT color=#000080></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT color=#000080>Do any of you have any first hand experience = with these pianos? I've only seen them at trade shows and at their U.S. = headquarters. Neither of which are ideal places to really examine a piano. I will say = those I've heard showed some promise in the traditional S&S manner. They = sounded voiceable and workable. But, as I said, I've not had any first hand = experience with them.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT color=#000080></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT color=#000080>I guess my question are these: </FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT color=#000080>Since it appears that Young Chang is now = building a line of cheap(er) S&S almost-clones, how do they compare with the original? What is the public's perception of them? How are Y-C = dealers accepting them and, more importantly, how are they promoting and selling = them? What is their performance like really--in the home or studio with real = people playing them? And, the question I expect both S&S and Y-C are = asking: If the public was confused by the S&S/Kawai deal, what's it going to be = like with the S&S/Y-C deal with the Y-C looking and feeling increasingly like = the S&S?</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT color=#000080></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT color=#000080>Del</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT color=#000080></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT color=#000080>Delwin D Fandrich<BR>Piano Designer & Builder<BR>Hoquiam, Washington  USA<BR>E.mail:  <A href="mailto:pianobuilders@olynet.com">pianobuilders@olynet.com</A><BR>= Web Site:  <A href="http://www.pianobuilders.com">www.pianobuilders.com</A></FONT></D= IV></BODY></HTML>