<html> Roger & List, While encouraged to find technicians, such as yourself, becoming more aware and open to the validity of and unique performance nuances possible on period replica instruments, I would urge you to go one step further and seek out painstakingly and expertly restored originals before writing them off. Having been privileged to work half my life with "old dry boxes", and I know others on the list who have as well, I'm increasingly amazed at the shear genius of the masters and their master-pieces (i.e. Walter, Graf, Broadwood and Streicher, to name a few) creating the instruments they did without the benefit of Bill Gates!  I've also witnessed this amazement in the faces of world-class concert pianists (modern and fortepianists) when they sit down and weave their magic on an appropriately prepared "box" nearly 200 years old, compared with one right out of the shop.  Further (and I hope I word this next part as respectfully intended), though present day replica builders are getting better all the time (i.e. Stephan Birkett, Rod Regier, Tom & Barbara Wolf, Paul McNulty, ...) there is nothing quite like the voice and touch of an original "manuscript" that's capable of expressing history as something (someone?) who has "been there, done that". With one foot still in the 19th century, Robert Murphy Piano Technician, Michigan State University At 07:52 AM 11/5/99 -0800, Roger Hayden wrote: >"...I would think that those old dry boxes can't approach the 'life' I felt in >your new recreations."  > >Thanks Stephan > >Roger Hayden </html>