[CAUT] becoming an all Steinway School

[Andrew Anderson]

I am a technician servicing an official all Steinway school and one 
that would probably qualify but isn't interested in the hassle (to 
quote the dean.)

I am also a piano dealer carrying Sauter pianos.  I know a list of 
"All-Steinway" schools in the US and Europe (Hamburg instruments) 
that have purchased Sauters recently for the stated purpose of having 
a variety of high-end piano sound to offer their students.  They are 
still All Steinway at this point, none of them are particularly 
concerned about retaining the status either.

The school I service did it to piggy-back on Steinway advertising 
with the interest of drawing more international piano students.  Two 
in four years...  They are sorely disappointed with the dealer and 
won't be buying from her again.  (Absolutely nothing is covered under 
the short warranty, even glaring defects and fairly obvious fixes 
advocated by Steinway tech.s in New York.)  Their second 
concert-grand probably will not be a Steinway either.  Anyone want a 
D that shouldn't have been let out of the factory for 95 Gs?

You have to remember this is a symbiotic advertising thing.  They 
both have something to lose by changing status of schools.  I haven't 
seen the contract but I'd suspect it involves a requirement for a 
significant majority per-centage of the pianos in the school.  This 
school has one Baldwin R, in the Student Center.

To qualify the previous paragraph: a Steinway tech. mentioned in 
passing that a certain school (name slips me) was de-certified for 
failing to adequately maintain their pianos.  Steinway will act to 
protect their program when they deem it necessary.

All the practice pianos are Boston uprights.  As a tech I don't like 
them.  They are weather yo-yos in the extreme and the tuning pins are 
not stiff enough for an easy solid tuning.  You really have to 
massage them to be sure you don't have the pins wind back up and 
sharp when approaching pitch from above.  Ie they twist a lot before 
the feet move and you can pound and not provoke the 
movement  immediately.  You have to wag that hammer back and forth a 
bit until you find center on the desired pitch.  The Boston grands 
have that typical brown sound but tune up well and don't have 
Steinway type action mating issues.  Good quality control at Kawai.

The one school auctioned off the worst of the inventory and then 
moved the best into various offices and classrooms.  The other was a 
new school, first and new inventory.

Andrew Anderson

At 09:00 PM 12/8/2007, you wrote:
>hi folks
>I'd be interested to hear experiences from those
>techs. working at schools  that have become ''All
>Steinway''. Is it very restrictive on the purchase
>choice of instruments. What happened to existing
>inventory. Was administration and faculty  won over by
>becoming ''All Steinway''. How are the Boston pianos
>holding up etc etc..........
>
>
> 
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