Tuned front duplexes

[Delwin D Fandrich]

----- Original Message -----
From: "Phillip L Ford" <fordpiano@lycos.com>
To: <pianotech@ptg.org>
Sent: November 08, 2001 5:40 PM
Subject: Re: Tuned front duplexes


> -------------
> Agreed.  And some impresarios seem to have already implemented this.
> There are a couple of small venues in the Bay Area that feel that they
> need to amplify acoustic instruments.  The result is appalling to me.
Perhaps
> they feel that people have become so used to loud, poor quality sounds
that
> they now expect them.

More likely they are half deaf from over-exposure.


> ------------
> If it doesn't, then the obvious path for the designer, in my
> opinion, would be to eliminate tuned front duplexes altogether, even in
> concert pianos.  If there is a projection enhancement, then the designer
> must make a choice about projection versus tone quality and the pianist's
> personal experience during the performance.  I would certainly advocate
> for beatiful tone and dynamic range over projection.  But if the designer
> prefers projection then at least he would know that the option is open to
him,
> at a cost.

Even then, you have to make the things tunable and you have to make the
assumption that every technician who will be tuning the piano will also know
how to tune the front duplex. All in all, it's just not worth it.


> --------------
> So I usually will only go
> to a  large hall when there is an artist that I specifically want to hear,
and
> can only hear in a large hall.

Even there I think a more appropriate solution will be to lightly amplify
the piano rather than force it to go beyond its natural and comfortable
limits. I've seen this done gently and with taste too often to accept the
argument that pianos can't be amplified.


> -----------------
> Yes.  If we want the artist to give us an inspired performance, then we
> have to provide the tools and the environment to inspire him.  I don't
think
> we're very often doing that now.  We also have to give him the freedom
> to take chances, which means an occasional misstep.  Some wrong notes
> are going to occur and some attempts at looking at things and playing them
> in a new or fresh way may turn out not to work.  That's part of being
there
> live.  That's part of being alive.

Maybe I'm just getting cantankorous in my old age, but I find I simply don't
want to waste the time and expend the energy to attend the slick, over-hyped
and over-promoted concerts, finding myself buried in a crowd of 2,500 to
3,500 people almost none of whom are going to be able to hear really good
piano sound even if the piano is of the most exceptional quality.


> -----------------
> That's an interesting question.  500-750 sounds reasonable.  The halls
that
> I most like to hear piano performances in I would say must hold in the
> 200 - 500 range.

I was thinking of this more as a miximum....


> -----------------
> This brings up another topic.  If I were choosing any
> piano that I wanted and didn't have to worry about filling up a large hall
> I would not choose a 9 ft piano.  My favorite pianos tend to be in the
> 6 1/2 ft to 7 1/2 ft range.  A small hall also makes this a possibility.

What I do like about the larger piano is the quality of tone and sustain
common to the long string. I'm thinking about, and working on, some ideas to
achieve this type of tone quality in a smaller piano. I'm hopeful that my
200 cm (6' 7") grand design will have some of what I'm after. (If not, I
have a 225 cm design in computer.)

Del