Well..... I am not impressed. I have worked for a Steinway dealer here in Boise for three years. In that time we have represented: Steinway (of course), Kawai, Baldwin, Wurlitzer (dumped in '93), Young Chang (dumped in '87), Samick( dumped us in '94), DH Baldwin (Samick), Kohler & Campbell (Samick), and now I hear we'll be returning to Wurlitzer grands (Samick). My experience in servicing these has been mostly in easing keys. When I first started working on Samicks, I would only ease those keys which were sticking. Now I have a 20 step checklist that is rigidly followed before any Korean instrument leaves the store. IMHO, the wood is not yet seasoned to our climate (dry, dry, wet for 10 mins., dry). Before the checklist I would see the same piano for a month! Each time a different problem, so I adopted the checklist as a way to cover myself and our store. (I don't know how many times I had to reassure customers that they had not bought a lemon!) The materials all seem adequate and I have had no radical problems (i.e. rim seperations), and certainly no cracked soundboards (Samick's are laminated). My biggest complaint is bass strings and hammers. The bass section is rife with overtones, I used to try voicing and string tricks, but no more. Oh, and pins are so tight I have picked a piano off the floor while tuning. The real problem is not the piano, its the customer. They want Steinway B sound from a $7,000 Korean grand. Something for nothing. Eric Leatha tunrboy@aol.com
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