[pianotech] S&S B

[Al Guecia/Allied PianoCraft]

"Personally I’d rather work on a piano built during the CBS years than one built during the decade or two leading up to that time."

Yes, the quality in the late 50's and early 60's was nothing to write home about and I don't really know why. It was probably because the work force was aging and new help was hard to find. Those that applied had to be trained. That was my opportunity. I started there in 1963 and trained under Fred Drasche for 1 year along with 4 other applicants. I was the only one that stayed with the company. I'm sure that had some effect on the quality at that time. 

As you read from other on this list, they think the opposite is true, but as you say, CBS pumped quite a bit of money into the company to make improvements. The thing that upset most of us working there, was when they took two to four weeks of inventory between departments and knocked it down to one. If there was a problem in any department, there wouldn't be enough work to sustain the following department. Other than that, steady improvements were made while I was there. The Tone Regulators I worked with, were very conscientious and truly tried to make a quality piano. But we had no old timers in that department. Most had already retired or went on the start their own business.

Al -
High Point, NC


On Oct 8, 2011, at 12:51 PM, Delwin D Fandrich wrote:

> Until recently Steinway’s build quality has never been much to write home about. But the worst years came some before CBS purchased the company. That was the turn-around event for the company. CBS may have screwed with the finances but they also poured money into the company and set the stage for the company’s comeback.
>  
> I started working on pianos in the 1960s so the Steinway pianos built during the last few years of Steinway family ownership were still new or relatively new. Their build quality had been going down for years and, in my view, it reached a low point during the late 60s and early 70s. I spent many hours with Steinway executives and I worked on literally hundreds of Steinway pianos from the 70s through the early 80s. There was a strong desire on the part of management and workers alike to improve the quality of the instruments. Management was trying a lot of different things; some worked and some didn’t. I didn’t work at the factory as Al Guecia did—I worked on the finished product—so I have no idea how various management decisions affected the various departments or the individual workers but during my visits to the factory the improvements in infrastructure were obvious. These were the result of CBS money and I remain convinced that without CBS money the both the factory infrastructure and the build quality of Steinway pianos would have continued to decline and we probably would not have a Steinway company today. Instead there was a turnaround during the CBS years, a foundation was laid for the company’s recovery and the pianos have been improving ever since. Their overall build quality is better now than at any time in its history.
>  
> Personally I’d rather work on a piano built during the CBS years than one built during the decade or two leading up to that time.
>  
> ddf
>  
> Delwin D Fandrich
> Piano Design & Fabrication
> 6939 Foothill Court SW, Olympia, Washington 98512 USA
> Phone  360.515.0119 — Cell  360.388.6525
> del at fandrichpiano.com — ddfandrich at gmail.com
>  
> From: pianotech-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces at ptg.org] On Behalf Of Encore Pianos
> Sent: Saturday, October 08, 2011 8:58 AM
> To: pianotech at ptg.org
> Subject: Re: [pianotech] S&S B
>  
> Hi Al:
>  
> The perceived “insinuation” may not be on William’s part.  As a piano dealer for 7 years and someone who has bought and sold may Steinway grands, rebuilt and otherwise, it was my experience that many potential “knowledgable” Steinway vintage buyers were disinterested in any pianos from the CBS period.  I had many phone calls where the buyer would lose interest immediately when I informed them that a particular piano was from that era.  Right or wrong, it’s a fact of life. 
>  
> I did sell one 1972 Steinway B to a church.  It had a great board, lots of dynamics, and huge potential.  The Teflon action was in tough shape and it needed lots of other action work.  So I sold the piano on its potential and their faith in me that they would get a great piano after I rebuilt the action and voiced the piano.  They did.
>  
> That piano did have some quality issues.  Action fitting and damper action fitting was not to Steinway’s best tolerances.  Bridge notching was not great.  I won’t extrapolate beyond that to all Steinways from that period, and I will say that mistakes were made in every era.  Anyone who has rebuilt for a while discovers dirty little secrets in every piano. 
>  
> Will Truitt
>  
>  
>  
> From: pianotech-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces at ptg.org] On Behalf Of Al Guecia/Allied PianoCraft
> Sent: Saturday, October 08, 2011 10:44 AM
> To: pianotech at ptg.org
> Subject: Re: [pianotech] S&S B
>  
> I don't understand what you mean by "not CBS manufactured". CBS never manufactured Steinway pianos, only Steinway manufactured Steinway pianos. They just bought the company and screwed with the finances. 
>  
> I worked there during that period and the only thing that changed was the inventory between departments. They felt it was waisted capitol and what they accomplished by that move was layoffs for lack of inventor between departments. The pianos got through the factory fasted and didn't have as much time to settle, but we had the same management and the quality remained the same.
>  
> Since I and my department were the last to work on and inspect those pianos, I take exception to the insinuation that the pianos were of lesser quality.
>  
> Al -
> High Point, NC
>  
>  
>  
> On Oct 7, 2011, at 8:30 PM, William Monroe wrote:
>  
> 
> Hi List,
>  
> Anyone have a Steinway B, unrestored, needing work, not CBS manufactured, 1920s through 1960s?
>  
> Let me know if you do, I have someone looking for one.
>  
> Contact me off list:
> bill at a440piano.net
>  
>  
> William R. Monroe
>  

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