This is a multi-part message in MIME format. ---------------------- multipart/related attachment ------=_NextPart_001_020F_01C2D94B.96924C60 A bedtime story (Entirely my opinion and personal theory and not necessarily fact) Once upon a time in a land called New York a great company named = Steinway was building pianos that were well ahead of their time. Their = name was respected throughout all the world, and their designs were = remarkable. The Steinway piano revolutionized the industry with great = innovative ideas, and in fact many of their designs and features were = copied by other piano builders attempting to keep with Steinway's pace. = Then something strange happened in the kingdom. Something that in = today's world would be almost unimaginable. Steinway discovered that with a lot of marketing along with dominance in = the "Concert Artist" promotional business they could perpetuate their = product's popularity and success with little attention to actually = improving on the product itself. And so it was and life was good. But = their competitors elsewhere took a different road. They began putting = huge efforts into research and development to try and build an even = better piano. Acoustic testing facilities were built, highly skilled = designers, metallurgists, mechanical, and structural engineers were = brought in, and the evolution of the piano slowly moved forward. Later = the computer was invented and with sophisticated CAD and engineering = software the piano took huge strides. More modern materials emerged = such as improved glues, aluminum action rails, vacuum cast plates, ABS = components, CNC manufactured parts, and more durable finishes. =20 Soon Steinway found themselves in a rather awkward position. As times = changed the ol' S&S was loosing ground and the factory (speculatively) = held the worlds record for overhead operating costs, (after all, can you = think of a more expensive place in the world to build pianos than in New = York City with union labor and those pesky urban industrial codes??) = What's worse the product began falling behind it's own potential when in = the 1970's CBS decided that managing a piano company could be kind of = like running a television network. Fortunately Steinway was rescued by = new energetic investors and their pianos were restored to their previous = glory. But competition in the piano world was fierce. Many decent = quality pianos were emerging for less money. But heck, why upgrade the = product when you can use innovative marketing experts? And so the = Steinway piano with it's 1920's technology marched forth with the = infamous "best piano in the world", and "all the concert pianist use = them" strategy. A rather bazaar move since their sister Hamburg = division had already modernized their pianos long ago and had no = resemblance to the New York product. With a slick modern look, beefy = legs and wheels, Renner actions, poly finishes, and a beautifully crisp = sound, one wonders what the heck happened! So one day the fancy suits in New York sat around a big conference table = and realize that all the years of over marketing had painted themselves = into a corner. Having portrayed themselves as "the perfect piano", how = can you back out now and modernize your product? "Hey, how about this", = says a young gentleman at the end of the table with a slightly crooked = tie, "why don't we get someone else to build pianos for us using a = catchy name like uh... 'Boston', ya that's a good one, and then will = stamp 'Designed by Steinway' on the plate. And so it was and for the = first time in decades Steinway could sell a "new" piano in the U.S. = market. Of course if it's going to say "designed by Steinway" you have = to change a few things. So to do it right they changed the look of the = plate casting, varied the scale, used different hammers, and took away = those pesky ABS thingys. And so it was and a piano without a true = identity was created. Built by Kawai, tweaked by Steinway, and marketed = with a name that had no meaning or history but had a catchy ring to it. = Of course if it's going to be "designed" by Steinway you have to make it = a bit more expensive to boost it's legitimacy, (and profitability). So = time came to pass and the dealers had a new Steinway product to sell = that was more competitive and the money was good. "Wow", said Steinway, "that was a great idea, let's do that again". = Thus they did and a far away company called Young Chang began building = another "designed by Steinway" piano using the fun and catchy name = "Essex". Of course the original problem didn't go away. In New York = the same decades old antique reproduction Steinway continued to roll off = the line. And although still a very nice sounding piano with many = quality merits... do those tiny Kellogg's fruity pebbles wheels on the = concert "D" look goofy on stage or what? -------------------------------------------------------------------------= --------------------------------------------------------------- My apology to the Steinway company, the very fine people who work for = them, and the die-hard Steinway fans on the list. I still think = Steinway is a great piano although I have much more respect for a fully = restored true vintage Steinway over the current antique reproduction = version. Just a theory, flame if you must but that's what we're here for. Rob Goodale, RPT Las Vegas, NV ----- Original Message -----=20 From: Donald Mannino=20 Terry, I meant what I said; the material _qualities_ are exactly the same, = with the noted exception that Kawai uses some modern materials like ABS = action parts where we feel they improve the quality of the piano, while = Boston sticks to the Steinway story and uses all wood. ------=_NextPart_001_020F_01C2D94B.96924C60 An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: https://www.moypiano.com/ptg/pianotech.php/attachments/14/31/01/96/attachment.htm ------=_NextPart_001_020F_01C2D94B.96924C60-- ---------------------- multipart/related attachment A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: not available Type: audio/mid Size: 10416 bytes Desc: not available Url : https://www.moypiano.com/ptg/pianotech.php/attachments/d4/eb/64/d5/attachment.bin ---------------------- multipart/related attachment--
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