Rescaling

[Farrell]

"A great piano is an artistic statement in the same way that a Picasso or a
Van Gogh is.  You wouldn't 'redesign' a Van Gogh because you thought that
there was too much paint on the canvas or you thought that the colors were
inappropriate for the subject.  If you don't agree with what Van Gogh had to
say then paint your own painting, don't 'improve' on what he did now that
he's not around to stop you."

I think two additional things should be considered in this discussion.

The first is the role of the bean counters and marketing departments at
piano companies (yes even in 1910 they had them). How many Steinway or
Chickering designs were the end-all of design from that period? Maybe their
9-footer? Maybe only their 9-footer? Why did they make smaller pianos?
Because they thought they sounded better than the 9-footer? NO! Because they
could sell more 6-footers than 9-footers. Why do you see so many 6-foot
scales with plain wires right down to note 26 (or lower)? Because they look
more like the concert piano if they don't put wound strings in the tenor
section, and hence they will sell more of these pianos. I don't think anyone
will ever know all the inside decisions that were made (and are being made
today) at these companies, but I suspect that yesteryear was not a lot
different than what goes on today - look at the ads from Steinway,
Chickering, Weber, Bechstein before the turn of the century - it was war
with all the Chickering artists, Bechstein artists, etc. - no different than
Nike and Michael Spinks, Baldwin and Bruce Hornsby (sp?) - whatever! I
suspect the designs of a company's concert grand from whatever era
represented something close to the designers and workers best effort, but I
suspect the smaller pianos represented many, many compromises - and not the
technical ones Del often talks about that abound in small piano design, but
rather compromises induced by marketing/sales departments. So I suspect many
of these pianos are crying out for improvements.

The other item has been brought up, but maybe I can just expand a bit. Take
the Steinway model A. Is an A1 the final product? No, they went to an A2.
Was the A2 a final product? Nope, after than came the A3. Let's say you have
an A2 to rebuild. It may be best to talk to the owner about options and have
them decide whether they want to preserve an "original A2 design" or make
the few improvements that a skilled designer could make. I think both
courses of action have merit, and the rebuilder needs to let the owner make
an informed decision.

Just a few of my thoughts. Wonderful discussion.

Terry Farrell

----- Original Message -----
From: "Phillip L Ford" <fordpiano@lycos.com>
To: <pianotech@ptg.org>
Sent: Tuesday, July 03, 2001 9:44 PM
Subject: Re: Rescaling


> Most just follow what was done before.
>
> You make that sound like an insult.  I'm one of those that just follows
what was done before.   I suppose I should refer to myself as a piano
restorer rather than a rebuilder.  That's what I believe to be my task.  I
think there is an obligation toward the people that built the instrument to
put it back as much as possible to the way that it was originally.  If you
do otherwise the finished product is not the maker's piano but your own.  I
once went to a class given by Mr. Sanderson (whose name often seems to come
up in discussions of improving pianos).  He made a comment which I thought
was very much to the point and it went something like this; well, you could
redesign the scale on a Steinway but then you really wouldn't have a
Steinway any more you'd have a Frankensteinway.  I start to worry when I
hear the words redesigned or improved or some variation thereof.  These
words are often used by those that think that new is better and technology
is our friend.  The builders !
> of!
>
> the past didn't have our technology and in some areas they didn't have our
knowledge.  But they were just as smart as we are, were tireless workers and
experimenters, and could play and hear just as well as we can.  I believe
many of their design decisions were made deliberately, not accidentally nor
through ignorance.  The good makers achieved a unique sound.  Their pianos
had personality.  If one of the consequences of that is that the piano has
some quirks or warts, so be it.  Perfect pianos, like perfect people, are
boring.  The Steinway B seems to be a favorite whipping boy of some of these
discussions.  If you talk to pianists (who, not so incidentally, are the
ones that pianos are built for - not piano technicians) you will find many
who love that piano.  I have played on some Steinway Bs that will make you
cry or laugh out loud they are so wonderful to play.  I seldom have that
experience on new pianos with their low inharmonicity scales and their
properly designed t!
> hi!
> s
>  and properly designed that.  I have the impression that there are many
people who seem to feel that if you just find the right formulas and right
computer programs you can design a perfect piano.  Then once this perfect
design is achieved everyone can just build it.  The problem with this is
that every piano will be the same.  I have a name for this piano.  I call it
the Stepford piano (if you've seen the Stepford Wives then you should know
what I mean).  A great piano is an artistic statement in the same way that a
Picasso or a Van Gogh is.  You wouldn't 'redesign' a Van Gogh because you
thought that there was too much paint on the canvas or you thought that the
colors were inappropriate for the subject.  If you don't agree with what Van
Gogh had to say then paint your own painting, don't 'improve' on what he did
now that he's not around to stop you.
>
> Phil Ford
> --
>
> On Sat, 30 Jun 2001 07:08:24
>  Newton Hunt wrote:
> >Well done Ron O.  I wish we all had the facilities to redesign pianos so
they
> >worked well.  Most just follow what was done before or, worse, just don't
care
> >what comes out.
> >
> >Hope to see you in Reno.
> >
> > Newton
> >
> >
> >> David, Del, Newton and list,
> >>
> >> Del's post was right on the money.
> >
>
>
> Get 250 color business cards for FREE!
> http://businesscards.lycos.com/vp/fastpath/