I don't really get it. Just because they went to pick it out doesn't mean
that they sign off on any warranty issues. Determine what the proper fix is
(if any exist), outline the procedure and costs to the faculty. If you see
problems with the fix proposed by Steinway, outline what the potential
problems are with the proposed compromised fix emphasizing that this is to a
be a concert instrument which performs to acceptable standards, not with
some type of jerry-rigging if you determine that's what it is. Suggest that
the faculty contact Steinway directly and bypass the dealer if they are not
cooperative in finding a resolution. If Steinway won't consider covering
the cost of the proper repair or acknowledge a warranty issue then the
faculty can either seek legal recourse or have you do the work and pay for
it. It's an unfortunate situation but one in which your role should be kept
in an expert advisory capacity. Others will have to function as advocates
for them. At least that's my opinion. Otherwise, you can't really win in
this.
David Love
www.davidlovepianos.com
From: caut-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:caut-bounces at ptg.org] On Behalf Of Andrew
Anderson
Sent: Sunday, February 28, 2010 7:03 AM
To: caut at ptg.org
Subject: Re: [CAUT] Shimming the Steinway Action stack to reach the strings
I suggested that they make a warranty issue out of it. The Steinway dealer
pretty much shut that one down. It was selected at the factory so a swap
probably never was likely. Although, I know NMSU did so under similar
circumstances. There was a lot more political clout available there,
possibly a more supportive dealer too.
When I moved here the school complained to me how they were not able to get
basic service from the dealer. The D had never been prepped according to
the dealer's tech. The school had me go through it and it was in a sorry
state. At that point I notified them that I could not make it play like the
other S&S D in town (per their request) because it wasn't built like the
other D in town. (Another piano that I found in a shocking state and put a
lot of hours into.) I talked with Steinway New York about possible
solutions and they suggested shimming the action. I figured that work
related to how a D was built should be a dealer prep/warranty issue and
recommended that they contact the dealer and seek resolution. The more so
since it was still on the short warranty.
Sometime after this I was dressed down by a well-dressed woman after a
concert for talking to the school about any issues with the piano. She
insisted that I should talk with her about what I find in a Steinway. I
asked "Excuse me, have we met before?" When she continued to insisted on my
">responsibility<" to her I followed with, "I'll have to check with my
accountant, but I'm pretty sure I haven't received any payments from you."
She didn't like that and assured me that no customer of hers would ever seek
service from me. I have run into another poorly/un prepped Steinway
since...
She did finally send her tech down and he told the piano professor that
since he was a "big tall man, he would like the piano set up like Cliburn's
piano." He then settled for a long hammer stroke with deep aftertouch as
well. The students and faculty abandoned the D in droves for the older B.
Visiting artists had interesting things to say, none of it complementary.
When I was asked by them about it I would simply say that it had been
specially set up this way by the Steinway dealer's technician.
So now here we are with the piano off of the short warranty and the faculty
ready to have something done to retrieve the piano. They're not excited
about talking to the dealer again.
Andrew Anderson
On Feb 26, 2010, at 2:35 PM, Porritt, David wrote:
Why do we keep talking about doing this kind of semi-heroic stuff when it is
a warranty issue? Six figures was spent to get this thing and the company
that got the 6 figures out to make a 6 figure piano out of it.
dp
David M. Porritt, RPT
dporritt at smu.edu
From: caut-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:caut-bounces at ptg.org] On Behalf Of Chris
Solliday
Sent: Friday, February 26, 2010 1:59 PM
To: caut at ptg.org
Subject: Re: [CAUT] Shimming the Steinway Action stack to reach the strings
String Height minus Hammer Bore equals Shank Center Pin Height. We use
laminated shim stock that we get from the local hobby store. Realize that
just raising the pin height MIGHT work, but consider the arc of the hammer
blow. You could end up with the hammer over centering if you simply raise
the feet under the hammer flange pins. You need to imagine the pin in space
and rotate the stack around it so that the stike point ends up at ninety
degrees to the string. It might not be that now. Usually this means shimming
the front foot slightly as well. Best of luck Andrew.
Chris Solliday, RPT
----- Original Message -----
From: Andrew Anderson <mailto:andrew at andersonmusic.com>
To: caut at ptg.org
Sent: Friday, February 26, 2010 12:45 PM
Subject: Re: [CAUT] Shimming the Steinway Action stack to reach the strings
Yes, mea culpa. Wasn't really thinking the numbers...most likely 2"+
On Feb 26, 2010, at 11:30 AM, reggaepass at aol.com wrote:
The school whose Steinways I service is not satisfied with the dealer's
warranty fix (greater then 1" blow distance).
Andrew,
Not sure what you mean by this ("greater then 1" blow distance"). Did you
mean greater than 2" (since it sounds like the strings are too high)?
Alan Eder
-----Original Message-----
From: Andrew Anderson <andrew at andersonmusic.com>
To: College and University Technicians <caut at ptg.org>
Sent: Fri, Feb 26, 2010 9:13 am
Subject: [CAUT] Shimming the Steinway Action stack to reach the strings
The school whose Steinways I service is not satisfied with the dealer's
warranty fix (greater then 1" blow distance). They are requesting that the
piano be made to play like it should which will require shimming the stack
so it is within reach of the strings (>1/4" between fully backed out
drop-screws and pinblock).
Has anyone done this? What was the scope of work required? What is a
reasonable amount of time to complete the work?
Thanks
Andrew Anderson
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