[CAUT] My take on them, (was The "new" S&S Hammers).

[Greg Newell]

Ok, I've scanned these posts but I seem to have a 
little trouble with the line of thought. If it's 
a brand x and in order to stay a brand x it has 
to have all brand x parts then shouldn't brand x 
parts be pre-hung and pre voiced from the 
factory? Furthermore why is it you have to travel 
to the megalopolis to select your very own brand 
x piano since they're all somewhat different. If 
they are all somewhat different, and they are, 
what is the one defining thing that makes them a 
brand x? Seems like you can't have it both ways. 
Either it's a very special and highly defined and 
recognized sound and it musn't be tampered with 
for fear of destroying an identity (then they'd 
better all be the same from the factory) or 
there's room for artistry and therefore is 
somewhat subject to interpretation. Which way do 
YOU lean seems up to the reader, no?

Greg Newell



At 12:06 PM 9/20/2007, Jeff Tanner wrote:

>On Sep 19, 2007, at 5:30 PM, David M. Porritt wrote:
>
>>Jeff:
>>
>>
>>
>>Any manufacturer has their reputation on the 
>>line with the products they produce.  If they 
>>want to keep them exactly as they built them, 
>>they should just lease them rather than sell 
>>them.  When I encounter a customer’s piano, I 
>>assume they bought it and they will be the one 
>>to tell me how they want it voiced, regulated, 
>>etc.  How the manufacturer wants it doesn’t 
>>enter my mind.  They no longer own it.  Mrs. Customer does.
>>
>>
>>
>>dp
>>
>>
>Dave,
>With all due respect, I think you may 
>misunderstand what Mrs. Customer believes she 
>owns.  If it says Steinway on the fallboard, she 
>expects it to be as authentically Steinway as 
>possible - that it is not just a replica, but a 
>clone of the instruments the artists play.  She 
>also expects her technician to speak and 
>understand Steinway.  Once it has lost any of 
>that authenticity, she accepts that it is no 
>longer what it once was.  Whether or not we want 
>to admit it, if it is no longer authentic, it 
>loses value in her mind.  If a potential buyer 
>were to learn that it is not authentic, it loses 
>value in his mind as well.  There is indeed more 
>at issue here than our own artistry and pride.
>
>Yes, there is a large variance in what is 
>possible with touch weight, response and 
>tone.  But changing the hammers changes the 
>complete character.  It will never be capable of 
>that sound that is authentically Steinway (or 
>Yamaha or whoever).  That is what it loses.
>
>And I completely disagree with the assertion 
>that the manufacturer no longer owns it.  They 
>own every patent, every design and every process 
>which has earned the reputation sought by buyers 
>of the name on the fallboard.  That name on the 
>fallboard is definitely their property.  It is 
>the identity on which their future business is 
>built.  If we profit by changing any part of the 
>product wearing that name, well, some industries 
>would consider that fraudulent.  Were you the 
>purchaser of a prescription drug or a food that 
>someone had altered after it was stamped ready 
>for market you would quickly disagree with your 
>philosophy.  If it is discovered that drugs are 
>tampered with after they leave the manufacturer, 
>it is that manufacturer that suffers the losses 
>incurred, even if the perpetrator is caught and 
>put in jail.  Let's say we own a small business 
>which makes paint, but can't afford our own cans 
>and labels to store it in, and so we collect 
>empty paint cans with other manufacturer's names 
>on the can - maybe we make interior paint and 
>put it in an old Sherwin Williams exterior paint 
>can and sell it as Sherwin Williams exterior 
>paint.  We are misrepresenting the product in 
>the can and taking advantage of the established name to profit.
>
>The customer thinks he is buying Sherwin Williams exterior paint.
>
>It is the same.
>
>
>On Sep 19, 2007, at 8:23 PM, David Love wrote:
>>Neither, btw, should you be concerned about 
>>manufacturer identity.  No matter what you do, 
>>you will not turn a Yamaha into a Steinway or a Steinway into a Yamaha.
>
>I'm sorry.  I completely disagree.  My 
>experience is that Mrs. customer was quite 
>concerned about manufacturer identity when she 
>bought her piano.  One may not be able to turn a 
>Yamaha into a Steinway or vice versa, but one 
>can definitely turn it into something that is no 
>longer represented by the name on the 
>fallboard.  It becomes a rebuilt, generic 
>instrument with a false identity.  Something 
>like me claiming to a business degree from Yale, 
>when it is actually from the University of 
>Georgia.  While UGA patterned itself very much after Yale, Yale it is not.
>
>I'm just not comfortable wearing that hat.
>
>
>
>Jeff Tanner, RPT
>University of South Carolina
>
>

Greg Newell
Greg's Piano Forté
www.gregspianoforte.com
216-226-3791 (office)
216-470-8634 (mobile)

2003,04,05 & 06 winners of
Angie's List Super Service Award
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