how many pianos...?

[David Love]

A financially successful business will always be slow to change.  There have
to be very compelling reasons and forward looking leadership.  Personally,
I'm not that bothered by it.  It gives me a lot of work.

David Love


----- Original Message -----
From: "David Andersen" <bigda@gte.net>
To: <pianotech@ptg.org>
Sent: August 31, 2002 8:29 PM
Subject: Re: how many pianos...?


>I did not write this treatise on Steinway to exonerate
>them in any way. I merely tried to explain their logic
>from a business perspective ( remember, on several
>ocassions they have all but gone under )  and state
>that I think the pianos are still structurally sound,
>if not "completed" by showroom delivery time.  Most
>purchasers DO have tin ears, are buying for status,
>and Steinway may feel this makes it unwise to fine
>regulate except for actual pianists, who have varying
>taste in touch and tone and may want everything redone
>even IF Steinway went to the initial trouble of it!!!
>Please correct me if I'm wrong.   --- gordon stelter
><lclgcnp@yahoo.com> wrote:

I understand, Gordon.  My point was, and is, that our role as lovers of
music and pianos is to demand excellence from ourselves and the pianos we
deal with, AND to educate people's ears.  To assume that Joe Piano buyer
has tin ears and is simply buying the piano for status value IS cynical,
IMO.
All the other "fine" manufacturers prepare their pianos way better than
American Steinway, including the Hamburg factory.  American Steinway
should do no less.

The question of the Amercian action feeling "not right" and needing
geometric and weight distribution tweaks is another matter.  Virtually
every new Steinway I have put my hands on in the last decade has needed
some major tweaking, and has been compromised in the "final prep" to
accomodate errors in geometry or weight distribution, I.e. shortened blow
distance, wrong key height, too little or too much aftertouch, too many
leads, etc. etc.  Disgraceful.  Other manufacturers don't do this on a
consistent basis.  Why do we put up with this from American Steinway?
The basic instruments are good if not great, but they pretty much all
need a Stanwood-type tweak.

This has been the dirty little secret about American Steinways for
decades.  A big part of Keith Hardesty's business when he was alive was
tweaking the actions of new Steinways for serious players and performance
venues....

The dialogue continues.......

David Andersen