poxy on soundboards and seminar in Bruxelles

[Richard Brekne]

David Love wrote:

>The cork line was a joke referring to the wine analogy, not meant to be
>taken literally or personally.  There is applicable science to this area
>which ought to be employed whenever possible.  The variables that effect
>people's preference for new or old cannot easily be isolated, and that
>includes a psychological factor.  
>
>  
>

I took it as a joke, but also saw the moment of levity in it as well. 
I'm all for using whatever tools, including any applicable science, in 
aiding one to build-design-whatever a piano, but not at the expense of 
allowing  the musical ear to determine for itself what it likes or 
doesnt.  To much of our industry today already seems willing to accept 
that if <<the machine>> says its no good... then its no good. This 
whether the case be tuning, scale design, soundboard construction 
approach, action functions, whathaveyou.  Granted tho.. psychology comes 
into it quite a bit... some times uncomfortably so. For that matter 
marketing, myths, magic and mystism... and I can go a long way down that 
road many take in raising a skeptical eyebrow towards all that.  But 
that said, one needs to be, IMHO, just as on guard against the same kind 
of thing in reverse.  I have heard some pretty fantastic claims made in 
the name of science in my time here. 

Anyways... as long as we strive to keep seperate the realm of the 
subjective from that world which is made up of facts and figures, and do 
not try to justify one or another standpoint by inapproapriately mixing 
these particular P's and Q's... we leave the field open for all tastes, 
and clear for understandable explanations of why each of us do what we 
do without danger of these coming in conflict with one another.

What can I say... different strokes... not better or worse  just 
different. The only better or worse bit comes in when you dont 
accomplish what you set out to do in the first place.

Cheers
RicB