Archive for the ‘Guides and Information’ Category
Monday, May 23rd, 2011
I was devastated to learn about the tornado in Joplin, Mo. this morning. Very tragic news indeed and our hearts and prayers go out to the fine folks of Missouri this morning.
As promised I wanted to continue my discussion on the difference in pianos. On the last blog we talked about China and the other Asian pianos. While I did not go into depth on the post about these pianos I spoke directly to tone characteristics. I wanted to explain a few thoughts.
Pianos coming from Asia are often somewhat brighter and more dynamic in sound presentation which is fine. I find it akin to taking the stereo and pulling the bass out and turning the treble all the way up leaving the sound to be somewhat “thin” and not full bodied. Many piano manufacturers have addressed this problem. Pearl River for one has hired Lothar Tomar of Bechstein Pianos to redesign thier pianos and what has happened as a result is that the Pearl River pianos of today tend to have a more full bodied tone and more identifiable sound characteristic than before. Brodmann for another has also accomplished this. Delivering a brighter tone but with more depth and character than most of its counterparts.
As we move to the United States we have to take a step back and look at the tragic history of piano building and where we are today. The Pierce Piano Atlas is filled with manufacturers from the U.S. who are no longer in business or are 100% built in China, Indonesia or Japan. I find this tragic, not from the stand point that the Asian influence is inferior, but, from the aspect that the employees no longer have jobs and their knowledge has left our industry.
We only have three piano manufacturers left in the United States that are recognizable. The first and most obvious, of course, is Steinway. While Steinway and Sons continues to be built in New York, as always, they also produce two other piano lines. Those lines are Boston from Japan and Essex from China. While they say that they are built to their own specifications, this writer has some doubts to that claim.
Mason and Hamlin is another piano company that is a very celebrated piano among pianist. Mason and Hamlin has a somewhat more bright and clearer tone than its counterparts and is a fine instrument. There is some debate as to how much of the piano is actually built in the United States and how much comes from “world sources” they do continue to build very fine pianos right here in the U.S.
Lastly, I have to mention Charles Walter. This is a very classy act. although they are not as celbrated or as heralded as its two competitors, it is still a very nice piano. Somewhat more mellow in tone and never really known for their grand pianos although they do have a couple in their offerings.
As you look at the line up it is very sad to see that in a country as large and as musically influential as the United States we are unable to support more than three piano companies.
I believe its time for a change and that we, as a music community, should put our heads together and find a way to compete internationally with other piano manufacturers.
I will continue this discussion on tone character in US pianos soon.
Thanks again
Ric
posted by Ric Overton of www.PianoSD.com via www.MaxMorganDesign.com
Tags: Bechstein Piano, Boston pianos, Brodmann Pianos, Charles Walter, China, Chinese pianos, Essex pianos, Indonesia, Japan, Joplin Missouri, Lothar Tomar, Mason and Hamlin Pianos, Pearl River Pianos, Ric Overton, Steinway pianos, United States, United states piano
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Friday, May 20th, 2011
I am probably asked at least once during a sales presentation the difference in pianos and why one may be $2500.00 and the next piano of comparable size is $7500.00.
Pianos now come from at least three main areas of the globe. #1 by far is the production that is going on in Asia. Whether Japan, Korea, Indonesia, China or Vietnam (yes, Vietnam) the largest percentage of piano being produced now are from Asia.
Years ago when you spoke of an Asian piano it was with some disdain that you even mentioned it. While some still don’t like it, the truth is that they are doing a really good job in building pianos. For some time we have identified Asian pianos with a really bright, almost “tinty” sound. Today we are seeing many pianos such as Pearl River’s Rittmueller, Perzina, Brodmann and others that are arriving from China in a near perfect tuning, good regulation and a European smooth sound.
It has been an incredible change in production that we have witnessed right before our eyes. I for one am constantly amazed at the differnce in quality of the piano as well as the quality of sound that is being produced in Asia.
I will continue to discuss the various areas of the world that pianos are currently being produced in and the sound textures and differences that you can/should expect.
Eventually in the transition of PianoSD I will be discussing various pricing and with the help of some others I will start to hopefully explain piano name brands and give my opinions on what you can and should expect with each.
While pianos are my passion, I have a great love for piano teaching and a respect for the piano teachers and hope to promote thier craft. I am certainly trying to bring music education to Nipomo, Ca. where I presently manage The Piano Outlet. You can find us at www.thepianooutletco.com .
I hope you enjoy this blog as much as I enjoy bringing it to you.
Ric
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Tags: Brodmann Pianos, European Pianos, Nipomo Ca., Pearl River Pianos, Perzina Pianos, Piano in Japan, Piano Music, piano teachers, pianos in Asia, Pianos in China, Pianos in Korea, Rittmueller Pianos, The Piano Outlet, www.thepianooutletco.com
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Monday, May 16th, 2011
If you have read my blogs at all, you know my biggest passion in life is the piano. There are a million reasons why but, I absolutely love this business.
The people, teachers, technicians, dealers, enthusiasts, students and suppliers all work together to one common goal and that is simply to make music. Making music is the bringing together of all types of talents and joys in every walk of life to make a melody line and a chord structure.
We have all suffered the economic downturns, some more than others but, through it all we have banded together to create a new world in the music business.
As the changes in our website begin to take place I am getting more excited about the changes and really are expecting some really big accomplishments as we begin the process of changing the site over to a social directory, pulling all of the talents and names and information together.
We are looking forward to serving the music community and hope that you will all stick with us and make suggestions when you can.
Thanks
Ric Overton
posted by Ric Overton of www.PianoSD.com via www.maxmorgandesigns.com
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Wednesday, February 23rd, 2011
There have been about 6 or 8 major changes since the very earliest days after the invention of the piano. I have located a picture that you may be interested in.
This is rumored to be one of the very first pianos. Between the years of about 1790 and leading up to the the years around 1870 the changes that were bought about were changes that would last til today.
- The original piano only had 5 (five) octaves. These were eventually stretched out to 71/2 octaves in the early 1800’s. There are some manufacturers that have experimented with longer octave ranges like Bosendorfer (for example) and a couple of others. However, these pianos are not in common manufacturing lines.
- We integrated the use of an iron plate to help with the stability of the piano and assisting in making it last much longer than the older ones may have been capable of. The one piece casting is very heavy with some weighing up to several hundred pounds. Originally the piano either did not have a plate or a wooden plate. I am sure that when this was originally done the enthusiasts of that day thought this was a horrible idea and that the piano had been ruined.
- The hammers which had been made of leather gave a very tinky sound because of the hardness of the leathers. Early in the 1800’s it was discovered that you could use hammers made of felt. The felt hammers would increase the tone of the piano (notice that I said “increase the tone” and not “increase the volume”) and this gave the piano a much richer tone than the piano that Cristofori had brought to us earlier.
Over the next few days I will be telling you more about the history of the piano and fill you in on the other changes that the piano was about to undertake.
Ric
posted by Ric Overton of www.PianoSD.com via www.MaxMorganDesign.com
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Sunday, February 20th, 2011
Cristofori had made a HUGE impact on keyboard instruments by inventing and producing the first of what would become known as the piano. Although the initial pianos were an incredible feat, there was an incredible difference between what was originally created and what we now know.
The first actions were different in many ways. First, the sound was not as strong as what we presently enjoy. There were a number of reasons why. One of the reasons was that the soundboard of the piano was made differently and the ability of the artist to project at the volumes that are now possible was not possible with the soundboard of that era.
Strings were another issue. At the time, the string makers had not yet made it possible to produce strings with the diameter that are produced presently. They did not have the technology to understand that the bass strings could be wrapped with copper and the inside diameter of the strings could be increased in order to make a larger sound.
The biggest differences would come in the action of the piano. The action of that era was not only uneven but, the hammers were not controllable. The hammers could not strike the strings with the same velocity and with the same power that we have now. The action was somewhat more fragile and strike points were somewhat different and all of this added to the resistance that the artist felt when he/she began to play.
It has been said that “they just aren’t made like they used to be” and that is very true. When I am asked my opinion I often respond with “you are correct. Its better”.
I hope to be able to explain this in more detail in the next few blogs.
Ric Overton
posted by Ric Overton of www.PianoSD.com via www.MaxMorganDesign.com
Tags: cristofori, hammers, pianos, Ric Overton, soundboards, strings
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Monday, February 7th, 2011
As promised I am going to explain a couple of things about piano parts. Tonights discussion is pinblocks.
For many years sales people have used certain terms to describe different parts of the piano and would use that information to develop a sales pitch. Salespeople to this day continue to use certain phrases as if they have some type of exclusivity to these parts or that no other piano has these parts.
Pinblocks are one of those parts. Pinblocks ( at least all I know of them ) are made of hardrock maple, multi-layered and cross-grained to supply support. Pinblocks are the part of the piano that the pins go into that hold the strings in place. Each pin is placed in a scientific location and then pulled to a predetermined pitch to create a sound on pitch.
Every piano has a pinblock and is used for the same purpose. The location of the pinblock is the same and they are all made of the same materials. The differences in pinblocks come down to how many plies of hard rock maple are used for these pinblocks.
Some pinblocks are made of up to 18 plies of hard rock maple while others are made of up to 5 plies of hard rock maple. As far as my knowledge is concerned, all piano makers use hard rock maple as their wood of choice. The reason we use wood and not some other material is that wood will move and breathe with the change in climates and while it will go out of tune, most makers would agree that the use of any other material could cause the strings to break or lose their integrity quicker.
When sales people talk to you sometimes they make you feel as if their piano is the only one that has this. It’s not. Every piano has a pinblock. 
It is really important to understand terms when you go to shop for a piano or when on occasions your technician may want to talk to you when tuning.
One thing I do want to point out is the construction of the pinblock, in a new piano or a used on in particular is probably the most important part of the piano. It’s location is such that it will require you to take the strings out of the piano, then the plate and finally the pinblock when you have to replace one. It is one of the most difficult parts to repair and replace.
Ric Overton
www.PianoSD.com via www.MaxMorganDesign.com
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Saturday, February 5th, 2011
There has been a lot of gossip, speculation and talk about where certain pianos are being manufactured. You expect and know that certain brands are made in Asia. You would hope that certain pianos are made in the U.S. and you are convinced that others are made in Europe. So I want to discuss this topic.
Europe is the origin of piano manufacturing. Germany specifically is the country where most people arguably agree that pianos are the finest. For example, the top five rated pianos presently come from Germany. The next question is just how much that means.
In this age of globalization, even pianos that come from Germany have parts that are made in Asia. According to a friend of mine in Salzburg, only a small handful of companies produce pianos that are 100% Germany. One of those companies is Sauter also Grotrian and August Forrester.
What this means is that these piano makers actually guarantee that each and every piece that is used in manufacturing has Germany as their country of origin. This is a very difficult process and quite impressive. It does show in their pricing. For example you would expect to pay considerably more for a 6 ft. grand that is made by hand in Germany than one that is mass produced in China.
I for one have high regards for companies that are able to accomplish what Sauter has accomplished in using only German parts in the process of making pianos. However, I’m not convinced that having parts from China (for example) is not acceptable as long as those parts are made with the same specs as those from a much higher caliber part.
If specifications are followed and the parts come out within acceptable tolerances, I feel that they are equal in performance value. We have long been aware of some very high profile pianos that use certain parts made in China or Japan and until recently have done so with little or no comments from anyone.
I am proud of the American heritage of building pianos. However, to my knowledge there are only two American pianos left. The Steinway of New York and Charles Walter are both made in the U.S. and claim to only have U.S. made parts. I can not confirm nor deny this but, Iwill have to say that you also can see a difference in pricing from these two great piano makers than you see in an import.
So does this make the piano finer? You will have to determine that based on your own opinion when played. There truly is a difference in these pianos not only from the process of building but also in playing. The textures of sound are much different and the touch of the piano is quite different.
I would encourage you to go to a piano store and try these pianos out to see the differences in each one. It will be a test for you and hopefully, proof of what we are talking about here.
I will continue to offer opinions and profiles in the near future.
Ric Overton
www.PianoSD.com via www.MaxMorganDesign.com
Tags: American pianos, Asian pianos, August Forrester, Charles Walter, European Pianos, Germany, Grotrian, New York, NY, piano manufacturing, Ric Overton, Salzburg, Sauter, Steinway
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Wednesday, January 26th, 2011
In the next few weeks I am going to be discussing the difference between blogging and posting and how they affect you and your business.
•
Social Media by definition is nothing more than communicating with your friends, fans and potential customers via the internet. In times past we have used things like newsletters or direct mail or perhaps a tv, newspaper or radio ad to get the word out about a special event or promotion in the store. Now it means much more. •
When you hear the term “Social Media” your mind conjures up all kinds of images. You have Facebook and some of you are thinking “if I hear Facebook one more time, I’m going to scream”, Twitter, MySpace, Linkedin, Street Mavens, Blogger, Word Press, You Tube, etc. But, social media is so much more than just that. Social Media is also part of email blasts and includes the use of pictures, videos and of course blogs and micro blogs as well. •
Social media is all of these things but, it also serves a secondary purpose. The secondary purpose is ………wait for it………Google. You all know that Google is the dominant search engine used. Some analysts are saying that Google handles 67% of all searches done on the internet globally, every year. Yahoo, Googles closest competitor, gets only 16% of the searches. Bing, which has increased in recent months, is still sitting with all of Microsoft’s search engines at only 11% or so. •
While posting to the social media platforms alone are not enough to get you a higher ranking in Google it does other things like provide you with links. I am not going into that subject right now but suffice it to say that it does play in together and all of these things hold hands and do communicate with each other in some way. •
People automatically assume that this is difficult. While posting and blogging is not difficult, there are a combination of words that have to be properly placed together to make sense not only to the reader but, also to the all-important search engines. You must be using this phraseology correctly for the search engines that are constantly reading your posts and blogs to understand what you are doing and then in turn rank your website properly on the search.
Additionally, shortly I will also discuss pianos, organs and their origins. I am hoping to continue to bring these programs together as I continue work with dealers, artists and manufacturers building their programs as well.
Thanks for reading.
Ric Overton of www.PianoSD.com via www.MaxMorganDesign.com
Tags: Blogging, Microsoft, musical artists, organ dealers, organs, piano, piano dealers, Posting, Ric Overton, search engines, social media, www.StreetMavens.com, www.Twitter.com, www.Wordpress.com, www.yahoo.com, www.Youtube.com
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Sunday, January 23rd, 2011
As many of you know who follow us on a regular basis, PianoSD closed in July. My biggest problem is that I REALLY love the piano and music industry. I have a real passion for teachers and music education and I dearly love the instrument itself. The history of the piano is rich and it seems that I can’t just walk away and not be involved in the industry.
While I built PianoSD, one of the things that I did there on a regular basis was to post to social media accounts and blog posts almost every day. So, I began to offer to friends in the music industry to allow me to do their posting and blogs. The demand is big right now for social media connections and people really want to know what you are doing. Social media and blogs are the easiest way for people to keep up with you. The problem for a lot of music and piano dealers as well as teachers and artists is to take or have the time to do this. Although its not difficult it is a little time consuming.
Max Morgan of www.MaxMorganDesign.com and I will be redesigning the website www.PianoSD.com to reflect our new direction soon. In the meantime I wanted to let everyone know what is going on.
PianoSD is NO LONGER a showroom for pianos. We simply are a referral service for people in need. Last week I referred almost a dozen people customers to various services from tuners, technicians, teachers, violins and pianos. I have really enjoyed being able to do this because I keep up with what is going on in Southern California with the people in our industry.
I wanted to tell you who we are working with so you can visit thier websites and see what they are doing too.
www.RosemaryBaileyMusic.com
www.SethRye.com
www.SorrentoValleyMusic.com
www.JoanieManero.com
www.PianoSD.com
www.MaxMorganDesign.com
and about 4 more on the way. We are negotiating now with two international manufacturers, 6 artists and two dealerships.
What all this means is that even though I am not in the business of selling pianos, I am actively involved in the music industry and would be happy to help you if you are looking for a qualified tuner/tech, teacher, artist or if you are looking for a referral for a piano in San Diego, or a piano in La Jolla, or a piano in Carlsbad, even if you are looking for violins or orchestral stringed instruments, I can direct you and if you want me to go with you I would be glad to. Just to address money. I do not have a prearranged agreement with any of the dealers. I am friends with every one of them but, have no reason to suggest one over the other. If you want me to visit with you, I would request that you be respectful of my situation and pay me for my time and expertise which we can discuss at the time.
Keep your eyes on us and watch as we begin to change the way we have traditionally done business. I hope you are happy with what you find.
Ric Overton
post by Ric Overton of www.PianoSD.com via www.MaxMorganDesign.com
Tags: artists, blogs, dealerships, manufacturer, music education, music industry, orchestral string instrument, piano in carlsbad, piano in la jolla, piano in san diego, piano referral, piano teacher, piano technician, piano tuner, pianos, Ric Overton, social media, violins, www.joaniemanero.com, www.sethrye.com.www.sorrentovalleymusic.com
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Sunday, May 30th, 2010
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
To: All Art, Music and Community Editors, Piano Music Lovers
June 3rd and 4th 2010, San Diego: Come and Meet Carl Ulrich Sauter—Master Piano Builder, Whose Family Name Still Appears On Pianos After 192 Years.
PianoSD.com is pleased to announce the visit to San Diego of the Sauter company’s owner and operator, Carl Ulrich Sauter. Mr. Sauter’s name appears on every piano manufactured by the Sauter Pianoforte Manufactur Company which has the tradition of building pianos since 1819—the longest family owned piano company in the world. “Its survival is owed to the instruments built with Tradition, Quality & Style.” describes Ric Overton of Piano SD. “Mr. Sauter is coming to insure the integrity of the Sauter name, his very own, in North America.”
Relatively new in San Diego, Sauter started with its young founder assisting in the building of pianos for Ludwig van Beethoven. Since then, the piano company has remained in the family, carried the family name and continued with its vast knowledge of piano style and construction throughout many decades. While the oldest, it is also innovative. By combining visual sophistication and unequal sound productions, Sauter is definitely a leader.
Sauter Pianos are known for their unique and superb designs.In the words of Carl Ulrich Sauter himself: “We just do not care about phony marketing strategies and target groups. We follow our dream to build the best upright or grand piano of the world and ensure that today there is a broad choice of real instruments that are far superior to the corporate cookie cutter manufacturers.” Sauter pianos qualify in every way among the best-made pianos in the world. Caring musicians select the brand for its sound qualities.
Ric Overton, owner of Piano SD, will host a public meeting for Mr. Sauter on June 3, and a chapter meeting of Piano Technical Guild on June 4. “At PianoSD.com”, says Overton, “we strive to make people happy and make music fun. With a strong emphasis on music education, we want people to understand what they are buying and understand music. Our goal is to make PianoSD.com a place where Music, Education and the Arts come together, this is why we are delighted to host Mr. Sauter and have everyone meet the man who leads the oldest piano manufacturer that still operates under its family name.”
Contact Information
Ric Overton
Owner, PianoSD.com
Tags: California, Carl Ulrich Sauter, Ludwig van Beethoven, master piano builder, music instruments, North America, piano, Piano Technicians Guild, Ric Overton, San Diego, Sauter Pianoforte manufacture Company
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