List, Let me say at the beginning that I do not generally disagree with the following quote from Del Fandich: >> These are simply very heavily used Yamaha and/or Kawai pianos, mostly coming out of educational facilities, mostly in need of extensive service work that they are not going to get. They are being sold on the basis of the good name and reputation of their builders. But, surely, this sort of thing has been going on for decades with pianos built and used in the US. Why should we be surprised when some enterprising entrepreneur does it with pianos built and used in Japan. << However, as I said in my original post I was trying to gather facts on 2 specific questions that endlessly come up in the 'grey market' debate. 1. Seasoned for Destination, and 2. that the 'grey market' U1's, U3's, and C3's were originally built to a lower quality. The reason for focus on these 2 areas is because to me these represent the 'unknown' factors when evaluating a piano for a customer. General wear and tear must be made on a case by case basis, irrespective of the pianos reported background (I say reported because do you ever really know the background of most second hand pianos). Also, the cost of new hammers etc, is relatively easy to calculate. Long term performance is the key issue. I thought it worth summing up the comments to date on the 2 areas I was enquiring on so that folks can comment further if necessary: SEASONED FOR DESTINATION >> I've heard both positions stated by folks working for Yamaha. Yes, certain pianos are "seasoned for their destination." No, all pianos are built on the same line. Take your pick. - Del Fandich << There appears to be no consensus or evidence that Yamaha do 'season for destination' as claimed. Perhaps this is the reason this point is gone over and over again. Question: why don't Yamaha, who must be aware of the debate on this issue, come out and demonstrate or document the different manufacturing processes involved and kill this debate once and for all? Their credibility must suffer while the debate on this topic drags endlessly on. For this reason I remain skeptical. Is there anyone who can answer this question? >> It seems to be that when these instruments are brought to the much drier and seasonally varying U.S. climates, (perhaps with the exception of southern Florida or other notorious humid climates), that they literally begin to fall apart within a relatively short time. Specifically, the pin block becomes loose/delaminated, the soundboard begins cracking and falling apart, and the bridges crack and cause the pins to become loose. << While the above statement covered the mood of many contributors, no one reported actual experience of recurring structural problems with 'grey market' pianos. One contributor from a dry region reported no problems other that a pitch drop of a range normally associated with bring pianos from a higher humidity area to his region. >> What seems to be lost in these discussions is the way early Yamaha pianos reacted to the US climate during the 60's and early 70's. Many of the early pianos Yamaha exported to the US also exhibited climate related problems when they were exposed to our climate. Now they are showing up again. This time in the form of pianos that were built by Yamaha during the same period, but which were sold and used in Japan. << Again, no one actually reported recent experience of a significant and recurring problem with what must be the large number of these pianos being brought into the US or other countries. My experience is that there are few 60's pianos being imported and most are less than 20 years old. >> problems that plague these pianos can be traced to: 1) There are radical differences between the climate that these pianos were exposed to for lo, these many years, and the climate found in most of the US. Try moving a 30 year old piano of nearly any manufacture from a university in Louisiana to a private home in Eastern Oregon sometime. That board is going to pop open like Humpty Dumpty's head. << Again, no one reported a rate of structural problems for changing climates in the 'grey market' pianos that was higher than US made or 'US seasoned' import pianos. LOWER BUILD QUALITY Other than grands sometimes only having 2 pedals, no one reported any experience at identifying lower manufacturing quality on 'grey market' pianos. As I realize that my summary of the debate is probably different to where the ECONOMIC thread of the discussion lead, if I have summed up the 2 points in question incorrectly, or your experience on these 2 issues is different (or further evidence that is the same) I trust you will please let me know. Regards, John Woodrow Sydney, Australia Email: Woodroj@syvax.email.dupont.com Telephone: 61-2-99236103 Fax: 61-2-99236099
This PTG archive page provided courtesy of Moy Piano Service, LLC