High quality?

[Ron Nossaman]

>Hi all
>
>Here is a hypothetical question:  Is it worth putting high quality strings 
>on a low quality baby grand?  And like wise, is it worth putting high 
>quality hammers on a low quality baby grand?  Specifically, would there be 
>a noticable difference in the sound quality or would it just be a waste of 
>money?
>
>Ned Swift

Hi Ned,
Do you want to stock low quality strings to reserve for low quality pianos, 
as well as high quality strings for the good ones? I'd sure like to listen 
in on that phone call when you ask the supply house if they have any low 
quality strings you can buy cheap. <G> For plain wire, just buy the good 
stuff and use it on everything. Bass strings are a little different. It 
mostly depends on where you draw the line defining what is exceptionally 
good quality, what is adequate quality, and what is unusable. Adequate 
quality should be usable on anything, as could exceptionally good quality. 
If the exceptional quality strings don't give you results that are 
significantly better than the adequate quality strings on the good pianos 
you've tried them on, then you might not consider them worth the added 
price. Then you have to consider what is being done to the low quality 
grand. Some "low quality" grands (by name and general consensus) can be 
high quality grands with the right work. It's the same thing with hammers. 
You need to define what you have to work with (piano and budget), what you 
intend to do with (or to) it, and what you expect it to be as a result of 
your work.

I think most folks tend to approach rebuilding as a list of things they can 
do to the piano to improve it. I've found it helpful to look at it as a 
list of things that would improve the piano that AREN'T being done. It's 
often a much more telling list.

Ron N