What would Steinway do

[Allen Wright]

Paul,

I'll be happy to. Just give me a few weeks to take note of every  
difference I can find.

Another list I've started is a Brit piano term glossary. Things like  
"slap rail" for damper stop rail, or "damper sockets" for guide rail  
bushings; it looks like half the terms are different over here. Just  
as I was beginning to forget words due to my aging memory cells, I  
have to relearn half my piano terminology! Maybe that's a good thing...

Allen Wright


On 4 Mar 2007, at 13:05, PAULREVENKOJONES wrote:

> Allen:
>
> It would be a service to us all if you would share your "running  
> list" with us, and as well, any of the technical specification  
> differentiation that you might find between NY and Hamburg. Thanks.
>
> Paul
>
> "If you want to know the truth, stop having opinions" (Chinese  
> fortune cookie)
>
>
> In a message dated 03/04/07 05:24:18 Central Standard Time,  
> akwright at btopenworld.com writes:
> David,
>
> I had explored some of the archives since I wrote my last message,  
> and found some of the earlier discussions of the Hamburg versus NY  
> issues, including this one about action ratio you mention. That's  
> quite interesting, and something I'll watch for.
>
> By the way, I've only been in Europe three months now, having moved  
> to London from Cincinnati. So rather than a 'European guy', I'm  
> really an American transplant who is only now encountering Hamburg  
> pianos in a big way. Thus, my interest in your statement.
>
> I'm discovering all kinds of small (and also not so small)  
> differences between the two instruments, many of which I had never  
> heard about before. For example, one small but significant  
> difference (certainly in terms of regulation technique) is that the  
> damper wires are much softer than the ones on NY pianos - so much  
> so that it's possible to bend the wires without using bending  
> pliers (which some techs here do). Another larger difference is in  
> the lyre and pedals, which are completely different, without the  
> locking plate and continuous pin. The list goes on and on...(I've  
> actually started a running list of the differences, out of curiosity).
>
> Thanks David.
>
> Allen Wright, RPT
>
>
>
>
> On 4 Mar 2007, at 05:40, David Andersen wrote:
>
>>
>> On Mar 3, 2007, at 10:29 AM, Allen Wright wrote:
>>> Are you're referring to approaches to restoration, quality of the  
>>> workmanship, and things like that? I'd be very interested to know  
>>> what you perceive the differences between the two to be.
>>>
>>> Thanks,
>>
>> OK. I'll stick to just one, steady, measurable difference.  I do a  
>> quick action ratio check on pretty much every grand piano I come  
>> to; American Steinways have action ratios that are all over the  
>> map, with very few below 6.0, and many above that, which is  
>> defective in my view. German Steinways almost always have an  
>> action ratio of 5.5, 5.6, or 5.7---what I consider to be ideal,  
>> and should be repeatable in a well-controlled, craft-oriented and  
>> led factory setting. To me, this is an indication, a clue, and  
>> could be revealing of many other such disparities...each piano  
>> technician has to make their own judgement.  The problem is, most  
>> American techs have little or no experience with German Steinways,  
>> and the reverse applies to European and Asian techs.
>>
>> The negativity you European guys pick up from us in the States is  
>> experience-based and documented; it's not some sour-grapes,  
>> personality-deficit-driven or ego-driven thing.
>>
>> David Andersen
>>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> =
>
>




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