Steinway M

[Delwin D Fandrich]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "David Andersen" <bigda@gte.net>
To: "Pianotech" <pianotech@ptg.org>
Sent: September 08, 2003 8:50 AM
Subject: Re: Steinway M


>
> I took the time and trouble recently to hear a redesigned, re-engineered
> Steinway, new board, bridges, action, everything, done by one of the
> acknowledged leading lights of our industry.  Frankly, and disturbingly,
I
> couldn't tell about the efficacy of the back end, because the action felt
> terrible, the hammers sounded bad, and the tuning and voicing were
> substandard. The people who produced this piano have dismissed out of
> hand any piano with a compression-crowned board, certainly any piano with
> a CC board older than 50 years.  Yet in my practice, in California, I
maintain
> literally dozens of elder Steinways and Mason & Hamlins, most with
original
> boards, some 100 or more years old.  Many of these instruments are used
in
> performance and recording situations, and sound incredible.  Are my ears
> deceiving me? Are the artists' ears deceiving them?


So, David, this is your idea of "fair and balanced" reporting? Presumably
you are referring to the piano you looked at in our shop. And you are
right. The action was less than perfect. The hammers did sound bad. And,
yes, the tuning and voicing were substandard. But let's tell them the rest
of the story, shall we? The piano was a work in progress. The hammers were
on trial. They were of German manufacture, tried once again because we'd
been hearing such good things about them from so many. Attempting to keep
an open mind -- though our past experience with these hammers had not been
good -- we tried them on this piano. It was a decision we quickly came to
regret. They were impossible. So, since we were writing them off anyway, we
started experimenting -- some of which has been written about previously on
this list. Because of the hammer situation the action had not received
anything like a final regulation. The strings had not been leveled, nothing
much had been seated. But, of course, you knew all this. So, I
confess...I'm a bit puzzled why you would chose to leave it out of your
little tale.

Regards,

Del

P.S. You mention in defense of the compression-crowned soundboard that you
"maintain literally dozens of elder Steinways and Mason & Hamlins, most
with original boards, some 100 or more years old..." and go on to extol
their acoustic virtues. You are aware, I trust, that M&H has long used
crowned ribs. That's not the same thing.  -- ddf