Wretched S&S & Yamahas

[Ron Nossaman]

>Would you agree Ron that 30 (perhaps even 20) to 50 year old S&S verticals
>are almost always in wretched shape - or at least in an advanced state of
>wear/deterioration? In my three years now of servicing pianos I have crossed
>paths with perhaps a dozen or two of these overpriced beasts and have found
>ALL to be yucky.

They sure seem to be, don't they, but then again, how wonderful do they
start out?  Maybe the short warranty is indicative of something here. The
warranty for the grands has been five years, but the last new vertical I
tuned had a sticker under the lid that said "one year warranty", or
something to that effect. I haven't chased this down to verify, but a one
year warranty on a new piano in this price range seems just a tad on the
slim side to me. Maybe I'm just living in a warm and fuzzy fantasy world.
Anybody have any information on this? - That's the warranty, not my fantasy
world. -

Got to agree about the Yamahas too. Even if they don't reflect my ideal in
tone quality, I am vastly impressed with their tunability, durability,
serviceability, tuning  stability, regulation stability, and overall
playability. Warranty support, and the willingness of the company
representatives to communicate with the field techs and take them seriously
is, in my opinion, a model for the rest of the industry as well. Kawai too,
for that matter, though I don't deal with them as much. 


Ron N