4. Whoever thought up the brass covered action rails? Steinway is the only company to make them that way, and I'd like to know why they're so much better to continue being the only company that continues with this strange design. 5. Steinway "invented" the sostenuto. Richard, Seeing these two points consecutively begs another question: Whoever thought up mounting the sostenuto rod on the action brackets; if it's such a great idea, why don't others do it (including Steinways made in Hamburg); and there plans to unify sos. rod location between the two Steinway factories? Alan Eder -----Original Message----- From: rwest1 at unl.edu <rwest1 at unl.edu> To: College and University Technicians <caut at ptg.org> Sent: Mon, Mar 8, 2010 6:58 am Subject: [CAUT] Mythbusters As you may or may not know, I've been collecting Mythbuster type myths and questions to present to Kent Webb at our Central West Regional next week (It's not too late to register. Check out our web site http://www.ptg.org/cwrs2010.) I thought you guys might be interested in looking at the list. If you have any to contribute, I'm still collecting. Richard West 1. Steinway hammers have always been soaked with lacquer. 2. Steinway factory voicing is completely different than voicing in Steinway Hall. And the two groups don't get along with each other. 3. Bill Garlic taught that rubbing an action center pin in the skin oil of your nose lubricated it well. Steinway endorses this "procedure." 4. Whoever thought up the brass covered action rails? Steinway is the only company to make them that way, and I'd like to know why they're so much better to continue being the only company that continues with this strange design. 5. Steinway "invented" the sostenuto. 6. Who's idea was it to use teflon bushings? Why did they disappear so mysteriously, and is Steinway covering any of these instruments with any kind of "warranty?" 7. What were all the reasons to leave ivory behind as a keytop material? 8. Why even make a console piano? They are expensive, quality made, but really don't sound any better than another good quality console at a far lower price. 9. Will Steinways ever be made by machines? It might just help make them more consistent from one piano to the next, given the same quality materials 10. The jigs used by workers to assemble and regulate parts are the same as a century ago. 11. What is the mixture of lacquer and thinner that Steinway uses? Is that what we should use in the field? 12. Steinway buys its lacquer from one manufacturer. The lacquer for hammers is different from the lacquer for wood finishes. In fact, if you try to use hammer lacquer for cabinetry, it just won't work. The manufacturer of lacquer is the same company as a century ago. 13. In the earlier part of the 1900's Steinway made some model "O" s, Serial number is 124543 that did not use a duplex scale in the piano. How long did they do this? Were they making both duplex style and this simutaneously? What was the range of years of this aberation? Why did they do this? 14. I've often wondered why they use the fallboard/cheek block system they have. It is so much easier to remove piano parts when they are not connected together such that you have to remove and replace three pieces at the same time. I really don't see the advantage to their system. 15. Why did Steinway stop using damper springs in grands? What's the current "philosophy" of damping. It doesn't seem like Steinway dampers are as effective as in the past. 16. If Steinway use of the "pressure bend" in regulating dampers is so good, why doesn't anyone else imitate it? 17. What technique/tool is used to create the “keyhole” slot in the keyslip back to fit the flathead screws used in the cheek blocks? 18. The Steinway bell is a poor substitute for poor quality soundboard design. 19. The Steinway soundboard is only good for 7 years. That's why dealers are asked to sell their rental C & A grands after having them for 7 years. 20. Steinway marketing has kept Steinway in business. Not its quality. 21. Steinway's marketing line that every piano is individual is a cover up for failing to complete final finishing, or at least getting a piano to a higher quality before it leaves the factory. 22. Why does Steinway continue to produce the 1098? Doesn't Steinway know that almost every tuner hates tuning 1098's? Why don't they redesign the 1098? What's with the design of the pressure bar? = -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: <http://ptg.org/pipermail/caut.php/attachments/20100308/2e5530d6/attachment.htm>
This PTG archive page provided courtesy of Moy Piano Service, LLC