A Curious Statement reply

[pianoman]

Hi Travis,
This probably has something to do with the kind of piano that tunes very
poorly yet plays and sounds good playing music as compared to a piano that
tunes well but has no soul..  A mystery.  Good thing we all like different
things.  Think of the shortages if everyone wanted the same thing. 
 Regards,
James Grebe
R.P.T. of the P.T.G. from St. Louis, MO. USA, Earth
pianoman@inlink.com
"A wonderful thing happens when you start promoting--Opportunities for
work.".

----------
> From: Travis Gordy <tgordy@horizon.hit.net>
> To: pianotech@ptg.org
> Subject: Re: A Curious Statement
> Date: Tuesday, April 28, 1998 11:52 AM
> 
> James:  As an aural tuner i knew at once why "buy the Yamaha and make
your
> tuner happy" was said. I shall never forget my first experience tuning a
> Yamaha console.  It was some time in the 1950s.  I had never heard of
> Yamaha or any other Japanese piano.  The tone was so pure and clean and
> stable and sterile (all the reasons some people prefer American and other
> makes)  that I was enthralled.  I did not know a piano could be made to
> sound that good.  I could easily hear everything I was supposed to hear
to
> set a good temperament  and complete tuning.  Why couldn't American
> manufacturers make pianos that good?  To this day I find Yamaha and Kawai
> pianos the most satisfying to tune.
> 
> Now listen me out before jumping in. My mother was a fine musician and
> piano teacher with two Steinways she called professional uprights.  K-52s
I
> guess.  At the request of the parents of one of her pupils I recommended
> they buy my favorite studio, a Yamaha U1.  I was anxious for  mother to
> experience the beautiful sound.  She couldn't stand it.  Why did I think
it
> so great?  I was speechless, and I learned an important lesson. Many
people
> do not like the "sterile" sound. She was hooked on the Steinway sound and
I
> don't knock that one bit. I have since observed that  what I find the
> easiest and most satisfying to tune does not always give the most
> satisfying concert experience.  If I was a pianist I would better
> understand the difference.  Recently a teacher I tune for selected a
> Steinway B over a Yamaha C7, saying there was no comparison.  She had
been
> using a poorly rebuilt Steinway L for many years.  In the ' 70s another
> teacher customer selected a Kimball 5' 8"over a Kawai 5' 10" saying she
> couldn"t get the sound she wanted from the Kawai. (IMHO that Kimball was
> the poorest piano being made at that time.)  Many people that grew up
with
> what I call the American sound spinets and consoles do not like the
softer
> more mellow less brilliant imported pianos.  I think it unfortunate that
> Baldwin is now making there small pianos like some imports with almost no
> sustain (or sound) in the top two octaves.  IMO
> 
> Travis Gordy   RPT
> ----------
> > From: pianoman <pianoman@inlink.com>
> > To: pianotech@ptg.org
> > Subject: A Curious Statement
> > Date: Tuesday, April 28, 1998 6:49 AM
> > 
> > Hi List,
> > In the discussion on Petrof Vs Yamaha C-3 someone said to purchase to
buy
> > the Yamaha and make your tuner happy.  A curious statement at best. 
Why
> > would that makes piano tuners happy?  Could it be consistent quality,
> > consistent tone, consistent great factory assistance if needed,
> consistent
> > everything I can possibly think of. 
> > 	 I have never seen a Petrof live, only seen pictures and read about
> them. 
> > My question is that if it makes the tuner happy, how can that be so bad
> > knowing the things I look for in a piano to make it enduring.
> > James Grebe
> > R.P.T. of the P.T.G. from St. Louis, MO. USA, Earth
> > pianoman@inlink.com
> > "A wonderful thing happens when you start promoting--Opportunities for
> > work.". 
> >