Rebuilders gallery at national in Rochester (Terry)

[Ric Brekne]

Ah Terry... you touch upon the crux of the problem at hand.  How to meet 
both your stated goals and still be a big time player in the piano 
manufacturing arena.  You have a fickle audience mind you, one that on 
some level more or less knows what it likes, yet is moved by the forces 
of the mystic as well.  If you have a success... you go with it. Basic 
business.  On the other hand you cant possibly have a real big time long 
standing hit unless something is very right about it.  That doesnt mean 
that another approach to instrument building is not valid. Nor does it 
mean that something <<better>> can come along.  But <<better>> to begin 
with begs a definition, and I'll argue that the only practical 
definition that applies is the one the public represents.  All our own 
technical mumberings are of no consequence in the end if the public 
doesnt buy it... yes ?

Its like I've said a hundred times.  The local tech, the two man 
rebuilding shop... the small time operation... all have luxuries that a 
manufacturer does not have.  We can use more time per unit, experiment 
with designs, be more consistent..  etc etc etc... because we dont have 
a whole darn company to run, not to mention lose.

So yeah.. each major manufacturer tries to balance <<the best possible 
product>> with what they think the market will buy, with what part of 
the market they want to appeal to.  Personally,  given market 
realities... I think we should all give the more serious players a bit 
more of a break.  They have to sell.... or go broke.  That means they 
have to play the sales game... and it is not always a nice thing to 
watch... but there you have it.  All our commentary will not alter that 
picture.

Its going to be realllll interesting to see Overs and Stuart develop 
over the years.  You reach a certain point in production and you have to 
either opt for relative anonymity or get in the tub with the rest of the 
salesmen.  What will they choose ???  Its real seductive to get into the 
game if you have the chance.

Cheers
RicB


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RicB wrote:
"Seems to me the measure of how "good" a product is basically boils down
to what degree the product is true to the design and intentions of the
builder."

Towhit Terry Farrell repliks:

Indeed. And that begs the question - what is the intention of the
builder? Is it to build the highest performance piano, or is it to build
the piano that will sell the best? At least among better manufacturers,
I suspect it is a combination of the two - but where along that
continuum are their intentions?

And you can't tell me that any publicly owned manufacturer isn't going
to have a pretty heavy dose of the sell intention! It's like - by
definition!

Terry Farrell