Renner USA Responds / L. Meyer

[Lloyd Meyer]

Dear Pianotech Group:

Some of you are aware that I do personally monitor this list as time allows and
know that we take a very sincere interest in your concerns and do act on many of
your suggestions.  I do not respond directly because I don't want to take
advantage of this forum in a commercial way.  I find the list an important
source of product information and general feedback on how we're doing, however,
and I appreciate the candor and professionalism most of you demonstrate.

The reason for this response has to do with the answers I've observed to Avery
Todd's latest request for hammer recommendations for his Steinway B and Marshall
& Wendell grand pianos and someone requesting opinions on Renner action parts.
In a couple of the answers, mention was made of the advantages of the Renner USA
Sample Parts Kit, and the difficulty in getting one.  I'm afraid we have to
plead guilty on both counts, and would like to clarify our position on this.

First, the demand for this Sample Parts Kit did exceed our expectations both in
the quantity we would need and the cost to create them.  We have also decided to
continue to provide Upgrades to this Kit at no charge, which has added thousands
of dollars to our investment in this program and added some additional delays as
well.  We have maintained a special list of those of you who own the Sample Kit
and are active customers, and it is our intention to continue to provide you
with Update Kits as improvements or new products are created.

The next upgrade is being produced now, and those of you who currently own and
use this Kit will be receiving this upgrade at no charge in about 10 days.  This
Upgrade will reflect all of the latest refinements we have made, and will
contain four new wippens, a new modified shank & flange for the New York
Steinway, and some additional sizes of damper felt strips you have been
requesting.  We've also increased the width of our replacement backcheck
leather, as some of you have requested, for the older Steinway backchecks which
were larger than current production.  We have already been shipping the improved
parts for several months now.  We just haven't been able to provide the Parts
Kit Upgrade until now.

Unfortunately, this has delayed the next production run of the Sample Parts Kits
which will already contain all of the improvements.  If we are able to complete
the Upgrades as scheduled, then we would expect to have some complete Sample
Parts Kits available before the end of June.  So, we're almost there.  I trust
this message will not be viewed as too commercial, I just felt you deserved a
response to the questions being raised.  If you find this kind of message
objectionable, please let me know and it won't be repeated.  Again, we
appreciate your continued support and wish you all the best as we approach what
for many of you is a very busy season.

Lloyd Meyer