[CAUT] Tone "contrast"; Was - The "new" S&S Hammers.

[Fred Sturm]

On 9/18/07 8:49 PM, "Ron Nossaman" <rnossaman at cox.net> wrote:

> Jim,
> I'd like the short list of those "pretty" pianos at Rochester
> that didn't do it for you, please. A straightforward naming of
> names, so we who brought pianos will know where we stand and
> where and how we failed. Specifics, if you please, for our
> education. How else will we learn?
> 
> David,
> Has anyone at SMU complained about the narrow palette of
> colors available from the D+ I did for you folks? If so, why
> haven't I heard about it?
> 
> I'd really appreciate some specificity here from both of you,
> so those of us on the block from Rochester (and elsewhere)
> will have a clue what the bitch is, to better evaluate our
> methods and general philosophies toward rebuilding.
> 
> Thanks,
> Ron N
Hi Ron,
    I'm not Jim, but I tend to share the opinion he expressed, at least to
some extent. So I'm going to stick my neck out and express a bit of my
opinion, going on the assumption that your post is sincere, and not just a
defensive reaction to a perceived slap. This is written with my pianist hat
firmly in place, and based on impressions playing music on the various
instruments, as opposed to doing a technical examination of some sort.
Unfortunately I was extraordinarily busy that convention and didn't find
nearly as much time as I wanted to spend on the various pianos, but I did
find a good bit at odd periods like the early mornings, at least in the
rebuilders showcase area.
    Like Jim, I found the rebuilt pianos at Rochester somewhat below my
expectations. Meaning I wasn't wowed by them. They were all nice, but none
really grabbed me. About yours in particular, I wished the voicing had more
bite, was "faster" as the Germans like to say. Which is not a comment on the
rebuild or remanufacture or redesign side of things, but just a comment on
the finish prep and possibly choice of hammers. And perhaps it has a lot to
do with my personal taste as well. I would probably say nearly the same
about one or two of the others in the rebuilders showcase, and would say
that one or two were quite a bit too "monochrome" for my taste. Yours I
thought had more potential and range, but I was disappointed by the finish
sound. It seemed like there was sound available that I couldn't get at,
probably due to the hammers. It was too hard to get contrast, to bring out
inner voices.
    To give the perspective of my own personal taste to that opinion, my
favorite piano in that showcase was Ron Overs', hands down. And my other
favorite piano at that convention was the Sauter 9' in the exhibit hall.
Both of which, I thought, had an extraordinary amount of clarity, range of
sound, power, and sustain. In KC, again to give perspective on my own taste,
I was particularly drawn to the smaller Steingraber in the exhibit hall, my
favorite of all was the Shigeru Kawai EX, and the Schimmel plexiglass I
found entrancing in many ways. IOW, I like to play the field <G>, and have a
wide range of pianos that I will find attractive as a pianist. I heard a lot
of people grumping about the Kawai (in the concert audience), claiming it
didn't have enough bite. I loved the concert, and loved the piano when I got
an all too brief chance to sit down at it in the exhibit hall. An
extraordinarily expressive instrument in my opinion. Maybe not overpowering,
but that didn't bother me in the least. (There were a lot of other pianos
there in KC which I liked a great deal, including the Ravenscroft).
    These opinions are all expressed in the interest of promoting a free
exchange of ideas, with no agenda whatsoever. I wish I knew how to take a
piano to a condition that would make me fall in love with it <G>. I find
it's a hit and miss proposition, with an emphasis on the miss in my case.
Nice and passable I can almost always get to, but only occasionally
wonderful. Maybe some day I learn what it takes to get to the consistently
wonderful. So if I'm being critical, it isn't from some pedestal I am
setting myself upon.
    I _will_ say that I think it is a shame we focus so much attention, both
as an industry and as technicians, on the concert grand in the large hall
playing with an orchestra. That is, IMO, the most artificial and unnatural
place for a piano. It can be glorious, but striving for that ideal has led
us to tastes and designs that I think are destructive to the instrument
itself, and to the likelihood of future generations of children falling in
love with it.
Regards,
Fred Sturm
University of New Mexico