Steinway Policy.. was grafs.

[Richard Brekne]

Steinways greatest error of ways... to my mind is this tendancy to be to
quick to criticise anything not done in the "Steinway fashoion" by
"Steinway people" with "Steinway parts". I am left wondering how many
potentially valuable allies amounst the piano tech world they would have
had they instead reached out a bit more.... and what that would mean for
the long term viability of their company.

Just yesterday I ordered a yearly visit from the one and only S&S rep
here in Norway for the Uib. This year he was to take the round on only
one concert grand piano.. I am to do to the other one.... his reaction
was...well uncomfortable to put it that way. Worst part of it is that the
school is going to see what they get for dollar value in both cases....
and next year he wont be her at all.

Now what COULD have happened instead was that he started working towards
sending me (and a few others around the country) to the Schools in
Hamburg, buildling up a net of allied techs. And in return I would push
as much in his and Steinways direction as I could. Instead he sits in
Oslo alone ruling over his shrinking domain wondering why people and
techs are looking to Yamaha instead.

Unfortunate......

Sorry to take this so far off in another direction... just struck a note
with me.

Overs Pianos wrote:

> Jim, Roger, Ed and all,
>
> Jim wrote;
>
> >  . . We were discussing graffs last night and this 'metric' thought
> >crossed my mind
>
> The Hamburg pianos use mostly 7/32"x 36 tpi. The Hamburg people
> aren't even aware of the parts used in US pianos. Some years ago I
> used US agraffes in a Hamburg D rebuild (since we were having some
> problems dealing with Hamburg at the time - nothing's changed). I had
> to enlarge the original agraffe holes and tap them for the larger US
> agraffe thread stems.
>
> When a rep from Hamburg inspected the piano, one of their criticisms
> (amongst many others) was that we didn't use genuine Steinway parts.
> He didn't realise that I had used genuine US Steinway parts. He
> probably still doesn't, since I didn't bother correcting him.
>
> They also criticised the reshaped capo bars. We shape them to a
> special profile to allow for the hardening process to work. Again, I
> told them nothing.
>
> Regards,
>
> Ron O
>
> --
>
> _________________________
>
> Website:  http://www.overspianos.com.au
> Email:      mailto:ron@overspianos.com.au
> _________________________

--
Richard Brekne
RPT, N.P.T.F.
Bergen, Norway
mailto:rbrekne@broadpark.no