Pianist's impression, was : What would Steinway do

[Concert Piano Service]

On 6-mrt-2007, at 16:03, Erwinspiano at aol.com wrote:

>   Marcel
>   Your experience with pianist echo's many.  As far as dialogue  
> with the makers go I don't find that the big corporations listen to  
> anything outside their own walls. I just sat with Kent Webb from  
> Steinway & we had a very congenial discussion about my unhappiness  
> with the hammers & the way they are coming from the factory.  That  
> is being heavily pre juiced. He stated that the parts dept was a  
> secondary function to manufacturing & that the hammers weren't  
> going to change.
>   Marcel ,They're not looking or listening to us they're looking at  
> the bottom line & how to make there job of getting pianos out the  
> door & make a profit with the least amount of cost & fuss within  
> the factory.
>   It's a nice idea but in reality it's just a nice idea.
>  As far as grateful. Yeah baby....vertigree.... collapsed  
> boards..... & teflon bushings will keep me an Dennis in  business  
> till we retire & beyond.
>   By the way every one bashes the CBS years at Steinway but they  
> had some really good belly makers then & into the 1980.s.  It was  
> the actions that were  primarily the factor that has given them bad  
> PR....but hey, folks still buy them...Let's here it for Marketing &  
> Tone branding.
>   I still get my best raw materials from the mother ship albeit used
>   Cheers
>   Dale

I think in the end it is only a matter of power and money.
There are not very many piano makers anymore and there are not very  
many piano buyers either.
So the interaction between buyers and makers is insignificant anyway.
Technicians who dare to stand in between and speak up risk getting  
punished for their professional honesty, so many piano technicians  
just back off and remain silent.

Now, in the world of cars for instance, it is totally different.
Cars are being tested every day everywhere, and they are being  
criticized by professionals in many many car magazines.
Both the public and the manufacturers are highly sensitive to what is  
written and said about their cars.
The amount of cars being fabricated every year is staggering so...  
factories had better listen carefully and adjust and adapt to their  
customers because the amount of money involved there is staggering  
compared to the piano industry.

It is my experience that only in some occasions do some technicians  
in some piano factories listen to colleagues 'in the field',  
resulting in some minor changes, and only every now and then.


friendly greetings
from
André Oorebeek

Antoni van leeuwenhoekweg 15
1401 VW Bussum
the Netherlands

tel : 0031 35 6975840
tel : 0031 652388 008

concertpianoservice at planet.nl
www.concertpianoservice.nl

where music is,
no harm can be


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