Saying Goodbye

Posted on April 3, 2012 by Eric

piano moving outI said goodbye to a friend recently.

While with Yamaha in the 90′s I purchased a Yamaha concert grand…a CFIII 51GX to be precise. GX designates an experimental model and 51 designates the series. The 51 was a design experiment that incorporated a number of design features of a popular concert grand made by a famous maker & Sons. These features included tubular metal action rails and a separate plate cross brace among others. Thank heaven the damper underlevers had spoons and the plate height was set evenly and correctly meaning the action could be regulated to a very high level. It also did not sound at all like the other makers piano. This one had a colorful and sweet sound, not big and brash as one might expect. The 51GX represented a path not taken by Yamaha. The CFIIIS that was introduced grew out of the 54GX series. In fact, I don’t think the 51 was ever intended as an actual production path.

I really loved this piano. It was my first REAL piano and having a concert grand at home, when one was only a mediocre player at best, proved that I really was IN the industry. I went a number of years without playing with any degree of dedication, but did get back into it recently and really loved the power, range, scope and the oh-my-god  bass of that piano.

But, things change. I had a chance to acquire another really beautiful piano (more on that later) and decided to sell my Yamaha. It was purchased by a serious pianist in the Washington DC area and I am happy to see it off to a happy home.

I did get attached to that instrument. It was truly a friend on a number of levels. Saying goodbye, even for good reasons,  is hard.

 

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Lacey Act, Gibson and Pianos

Posted on February 23, 2012 by Eric

The Gibson Company was raided twice by agents of the US Fish and Wildlife Service, once in 2009 and again in 2010,  on suspicion that Gibson had acquired ebony and other rare woods illegally. The musical instruments industry press went crazy decrying the action (apparently some agents had drawn guns!) and the laws leading to it, including the CITES Treaty and the Lacey Act.

I’ve had some experience with both laws. Once in the 80′s when a container of new Bosendorfer pianos was held up due to a CITES issue with keyboards and recently with the paperwork required by the Lacey Act to import pianos into the US.

The interesting part is an article in the November 2011 issue of the Piano Technicians Journal (rush out to your newstands…) written by Del Fandrich which quotes court papers as follows:  “Gibson sourced its unfinished wood in the form of blanks from Nagel (in Germany) which obtained it exclusively from Roger Thunam (a supplier in Madagascar). The filing goes on to state: “…Roger Thunam is one of thirteen known traffickers in illegally harvested Madagascar timbers”.

Del goes on to elaborate on the second raid which targeted ebony sourced from India which was 10mm thick, 4 mm over India’s legal limit of 6mm.

Why does this matter to piano makers? The primary way is through keyboards. Ivory is essentially gone as a white keytop material, but real ebony wood for sharps is still greatly preferred. In addition rosewood is a highly desirable veneer for the case, with other woods like mahogany in (relatively) high demand. Spruce does not seem to be on anybody’s endangered list, thankfully.

All in all a great article that goes into much greater depth than the light surface coverage by other industry publications.

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More Changes at Steinway

Posted on February 22, 2012 by Eric

I presented on European pianos at a meeting of the NYC chapter of the Piano Technicians Guild recently. Before my presentation, the manager of retail service at Steinway Hall in New York gave a presentation on changes in his department. Essentially, Steinway Hall is eliminating it’s complete retail service department, passing on all retail service to independent technicians. In itself this may not rank high on the World News Richter scale, but it is interesting as a further example of changes at Steinway with the installation of the “Europeans”  – speaking President Thomas Kurrer and his group.

Retail Service means tuning and repair calls coming from customers who call Steinway asking for service. It also means initial service calls on new pianos sold by Steinway Hall. I don’t know the details but I understand that this used to be a fairly active  with something like 6 full time technicians.

This is absolutely NOT meant to imply that service standards have been lowered. There are a number of excellent technicians in NYC and just working for Steinway does not mean one is any better.  It is more interesting in that it implies either a change of strategy or cost cutting with my guess being cost cutting. Somebody may have decided that any additional cost of having an in-house service department, whether it was $100,000 a year or $10, was too much and chose to just get rid of it.

I’ve worked in and managed a number of piano service departments, both for manufacturers and retail. Service can be a huge asset or annoying drain, depending on how it is managed.

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Thinking about Michael Jackson

Posted on December 29, 2011 by Eric

I’m over Arizona at 30,000 feet catching up on my writing. Delta, my new favorite airline after Jet Blue went mainstream, offers on-demand video which really helps the time pass. I’ve watched District 9, and September Issue and am now completely caught up in the Michael Jackson film This Is It. Even a small 9″ screen I’m getting the same visceral thrill and shivers that I got when I saw it in the theater.

MJ has to be the most completely talented entertainer of the last 50 years. No, not the best singer, but a complete being of entertainment. To see the passion that he brings, the complete involvement and mastery is inspiring as well as riveting. I’m getting goose bumps watching him flawlessly execute complex dance moves with an ease and facility that is astonishing.

Yes I’m a fan, but I’m biased. This guy is a complete utter professional, immersed with his whole being into his craft and art. It’s a level of involvement and dedication and focus to strive for.

Yes, the guy had issues, but how can he not. He has been in a hot house of visibility his entire life . He probably did not really know how to be a normal person

I could see an opera based on his life….just sayin’.

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Justin Elliott in St. Petersburg Times

Posted on November 26, 2011 by Eric

Great article about my friend Justin Elliott and his work improving the looks and sound of pianos.

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Why Should You?

Posted on November 26, 2011 by Eric

Truss beam fittingThere are many things on which to spend money. Good old Mazlow spelled them out for us. A piano is an investment in oneself, in ones striving for culture, experience and to some gods grace. Grace can be, of course, in anything. However an expensive, craft build piano is a particularly unique example.

If you play, a piano is a means of expression, a means of communication. It has been said that a piano is western civilization’s most perfect tool for the communication of emotion. That can be external communication, directed to an audience, or internal, directed only to oneself. It can be a tool of profound exploration or simple time passing, but so can any piano, right?

Yes, of course, but also, no, obviously not. A craft built piano has 2 important qualities; musical range and a story. The range comes from the combination of carefully selected and treated materials and skilled craftsmanship. These elements DO make a difference and even the most casual piano player can tell the difference.
Continue reading →

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Interesting reading

Posted on November 25, 2011 by Eric

Greg Billings, a Steinway dealer in Florida tells you  a lot about Steinway’s marketing strategy.

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The Myth of Power

Posted on November 14, 2011 by Eric

powerOften, when speaking to someone about pianos and piano tone, the topic of power comes up. Frequently whether or not a piano has sufficient “power” becomes a de facto determination of whether a piano is acceptable or not. In these situations, the real question is: acceptable for what?

If a piano is going to be used for a concert with an orchestra, or as a recital piano in a hall with poor acoustics or over 1000 seats, power is important. The simple reality is that the piano must be heard whether one is battling a huge space, an insensitive conductor and orchestra, or uncooperative acoustics.

Many young pianists, striving to make a name for themselves and influenced by some iconic references including Horowitz and Russian school proponents, find themselves striving for power at the expense of color, dynamics and range. The phrase I heard at international piano competitions is that the contestant wants to “pin the ears of the jury to the back wall” as if the jury is there to simply identify  the loudest pianist, or the one that scares them the most. This may be the nature of a circus, action movie or fireworks display, but it is not the nature of music. Continue reading →

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Prep Line – Feurich USA

Posted on October 29, 2011 by Eric

Feurich model 122I’ve been in Tampa prepping the remaining Feurich model 122 verticals that came in last month. Pianos need preparation, folks, to sound their best and these are sounding pretty good (he adds, humbly).

 

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Resinno in NYC

Posted on October 29, 2011 by Eric

Royal Ebony LegsI’ve been working with Justin Elliott, a designer and piano technician in Florida. Justin has designed a set of legs that can be added to any piano. While they are beautiful and exceptionally well made, there is a surprise!!  Go visit this video for an idea of what the surprise is.

It is one of those things that you really have to hear to believe, since piano legs are not given much thought as a tone affecting element. He calls the effect the Resinno effect

Justin showed his legs (I know, it’s funny, but let it go) in the DPA microphone booth at the Audio Engineering Convention in NYC last week. Big success. Shown here is the Royal Ebony set, consisting of 3 legs and custom designed pedal lyre, bench and music desk.

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