James and company,
I only saw this one time and am considering it an isolated incident. I wouldn't panic until someone else sees it. I don't know the stringing method used by Samick at the factory, but from the looks of it somebody took off the gloves on a humid sweaty day. That is my best guess from what I saw, but don't think it is leading to a conversation with the sales rep for Samick in the area, so I cannot give a great deal of information. Even factories need to be reminded that string has a shelf life, and when production is down, it gets closer to the end of it.
To the rest of the discussion, I like the originality of scale in some Samick piano products that I've seen. I find it honorable not to emulate others copyright patent or not, though I don't see a whole lot of the European products. Furthermore it is natural that any company would make a mistake about action centers. This is another thing, like voicing, where I have experienced a whole host of opinion, on materials, solvents, how free to make them, and how to go about it. But the last thing you want is the noise free vibration causes when not properly dampened by the bushing, which Samick certainly avoided to a fault. The company has a warranty, and it is an assumption that the company would rectify the problem fairly quickly when fulfilling that.
I would hate to see an action bracket problem develop like Young Chang had. And we cannot forget that Samick is a player in the treasured Steinway tradition, as a 32% shareholder.
Terrence. Please don't be insulted. The guys around here who don't play amaze me. I don't know how they do it. Ever listen to Car Talk on NPR?
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I admit the metaphor "Driving a car is playing a piano" does not sound very poetic. Sometimes I am indirect and tend to go on tangents. I did not mean to deviate from the subject too much. You probably know Click and Clack, as radio show hosts, go about trying to guess what the problem is with a car by the description and sound effects that the caller makes. They can't drive the car, just like some piano mechanics can't play the piano, but nonetheless figure out the problem without driving it. That is all I meant. It can be done. I just don't know how as that playing and diagnosing the piano always went together for me. I admit also that comparing us to car mechanics might not be sophisticated enough for some people.
The expression "less is more," on the other hand, is almost a platitude. The reason my composition teacher used it was probably my focus on orchestration at the time. He was trying to convince me to compose chamber music, which of course, requires less people. His composition teacher probably taught him the lesson in his own experience and compositions by stumbling through the composition of "Gurre-Lieder" and its Romantic proportions. I cannot think of a more succinct summation of the criticism composer and music critic Robert Schummann and his wife pianist Clara proffered of Liszt than "less is more." The political and philosophical aspect of romanticism, also could be criticized with the phrase. If we want Recitative, we want singing less like music, and more like talking. If we want Aria, we want singing less like talking, and more like music. Less is more. It depicts the beauty we find in, say the Taklamakan desert, opposed to the Tian Shan Mountains along the Silk Road. The desert or plains can reveal a beauty so much more powerful than lush mountains with so much less. So sometimes doing less to the piano, i.e., replacing fewer action centers, is more. The less you move a tuning pin the more stable the tuning will be.
As for making making hefty estimates, and unpleasant surprises, kind of just a joke about when clients say yes, and you got better things to do. It can affect mine, I admit. This has happened to me trying to rectify action center problems just like I am describing. Sorry I could not more directly address your dilemma, and made poor assumptions.
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Benjamin Sloane
Cincinnati OH
513-257-8480
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Original Message:
Sent: 05-21-2017 14:02
From: James Kelly
Subject: Strange Action Situation
Benjamin.. could you elaborate on the rusty strings in a new Samick ? Was the rust on wound strings, plain steel or both ?
Any other evidence of water damage such as staining or glue joint failure ? Could the piano have been in poor storage , transport or handling or is it traceable back to the factory or a bad batch of strings ?
I do not see that many Samicks here but they do show up mainly in homes of people who relocate. One of the schools in our District has two but they are not new and I have never noticed rust in them. Its probably a good thing for techs to be aware of and be on the alert.
Given the high humidity levels we have in our area it would not take too long for a piano to get rust given the right conditions.
Lack of air conditioning for an extended amount of time (usually a week or two) can be very bad. I have seen Yamahas and Steinways destroyed by the combination of high humidity and ocean air. I heard that when automobiles and pianos first came here on container ships they had horrible rust issues. The remedy was to vaccum bag or otherwise seal off the containers using dessicants and moisture control.
I certainly hope there are very few of these pianos with a rusty string issue out of the box...
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James Kelly
Pawleys Island SC
843-325-4357
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Original Message:
Sent: 05-21-2017 02:51
From: Benjamin Sloane
Subject: Strange Action Situation
Straight outta the box Mike I swear. I don't know if they were storing the strings underwater or what...
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Benjamin Sloane
Cincinnati OH
513-257-8480
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Original Message:
Sent: 05-21-2017 02:42
From: Michael Gamble
Subject: Strange Action Situation
I like teasers, Farrell - go for it! There have been plenty of them on this forum! Let's hear how you make out and just what it is that's 'teasing'! Michael UK