Advancing the Arts
Through Science
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The MAGIC of Stanwood Precision Touch Design ®
In
the 1990s David C.
Stanwood of Stanwood Piano Innovation
Inc. carried out extensive scientific studies of
piano actions. Stanwood found that the former
methods of measuring and creating the "feel" of
pianos were inadequate, so he invented a whole
new system of units and measures to explain why
pianos "feel" the way they do.
It's
called "The New Touch Weight
Metrology" . This elegantly logical
measurement system has revealed a whole
undiscovered body of knowledge about how and why
pianos feel the way they do and led to the
development of Stanwood Precision
TouchDesign(tm)
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Every Piano has a Touch
Design...
....What is a Touch Design?
"Touch Design" is a
recipe for the feel of the
pianos' touch, and consists of the
measured, leverage, and friction in each
key, using the new touchweight
metrology.
David Stanwood's
studies found that Touch Design recipes
vary widely from piano to piano, and
that when touch design parameters are
very consistent from note to note, the
response of the keys will be very
consistent as well.
Stanwood also
discovered that the combined levels of
touch design parameters will indicate if
the piano will feel too heavy, too
light, or just right. In addition he
found that touch design parameters will
tell if a piano is producing full tonal
energy.
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Precision Touch
Design(tm) - The Highest Standard
What is
a Precision Touch Design? Stanwood
studied the touch designs of
many pianos and correlated the data with
pianist opinions. From these studies he
developed idealized touch design
specifications in a variety of standard
or customized design configurations
which he calls "Precision Touch Designs
(tm).
Stanwood
Precision Touch Design (tm)
may be used to reconfigure the touch of
any grand piano thereby creating a
degree of perfect touch and tone that is
higher than any achieved before.
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The Task Of Playing
Piano Is Made Easier
Think
of playing the piano as artfully dancing
up and down a staircase. With Precision
TouchDesign(tm), the steps are very even
and the staircase is just the right
steepness. Without it the steps are
uneven and the stair may be too steep or
too shallow, requiring more difficult
technique to negotiate.
Similarly,
in a piano with Precision
TouchDesign(tm) the multiple weight
components such as hammer weight and
lead weights in the keys are made to a
highly accurate standard thereby
guaranteeing smooth transitions from
note to note with an ideal voicing of
the tone. The action leveraging is
designed to be not too heavy or too
light but matched to the physique of the
player.
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A Brighter
Future For Pianos
When
asked why no one thought of this before,
Stanwood replied: "All this became
possible because I spent years taking,
graphing, and correlating touchweight
data with the aid of computer
analysis. This gave me vision for
my inventions. Our piano making
forefathers did not have personal
computers in their shops."
Stanwood
says he was inspired by Gottfried
Leibnitz and Sir Isaac Newton who both
invented Calculus because the existing
mathematics did not give answers to
problems that needed solving.
Similarly,
the new touchweight metrology is
spawning a whole new range of techniques
for improving the feel of pianos that
were unimaginable before its inception.
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Letters
from Stanwood Precision Touch Design clients. |
FREQUENTLY
ASKED QUESTIONS |
Benefits Of The
PrecisionTouch Design(tm) System
- Pianos upgraded with Stanwood Precision
Touch Design are highly prized.
- Upgrading your piano with Stanwood
Precision Touch Design will make you a
better pianist.
- Stanwood PrecisionTouchDesigns(tm) can
help pianists who are prone to stress injury
- Makes finding the "ideal" piano easier
because now any piano can feel perfectly
incredible
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Miracle in a Box - a Piano Reborn
56 minute Documentary film by John Korty and
narrated by John Lithgow
Featuring David Stanwood and Precision Touch
Design
Introduction by Todd Oppenheimer, editor
of Craftsmanship Magazine
Glen
Barkman interview on PianoPricePoint.com
Article in Piano & Keyboard Magazine
entitled:
"The Weighting Game"
*This is the best article
for gaining an understanding of it all!*
Excerpt from
"The Piano Book"
Stanwood Makes
Boston Globe Regional Headlines
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Article in Sheet Music Magazine entitled:
"The Right Touch"
Stanwood Precision Touch Designs Featured in September 2000 KEYBOARD
MAGAZINE
Trade Journal Publications by Stanwood at:
Piano Technician
Journal Publications by Stanwood
Stanwood makes pilgrimage
to Cuba
For more information contact
DAVID C. STANWOOD on the Island of Martha's
Vineyard.
Email: stanwood@tiac.net
Phone: (508) 693-1583
Check the List of
Licensed Precision TouchDesign(tm) Installers.
NOTICE:
"Precision Touch Design" is a trademark of
Stanwood Piano Innovations Inc.
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Stanwood Piano Innovations Inc.
Box 1499, West Tisbury, MA 02575
USA
Phone (508) 693-1583
stanwood@tiac.net
www.stanwoodpiano.com
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