Terry, list: I have been interested in this subject for some time, and recently was able to begin to begin to satisfy my interest. I have followed the list contributions over the last year or two. Recently I was retained by a distributor to inspect 30 of these "gray market" pianos prior to their sale to dealers. Specifically addressing your question about parts compatibility/similarity, there are a couple of minor differences which I have seen which do not affect compatibility. Some of the U1's have dampers without set screws, using instead a plastic damper head fixed on the wire. And every Yamaha hammer butt I have seen has a butt plate, unlike the newer Yamaha verticals for this market. I would be wary of Disklavier compatiblity until I knew any different (and I did not see pricing differences based on the inclusion of a Disklavier system). Most of these pianos have deteriorated hammer butt return spring cords - just like American market Yamahas of the same vintage. A few of these pianos already had the set of cords replaced. When these pianos arrive they have been through a bit of a climatic shock. Soundboards have all ridged, and then shrunk. Only the laminated boards are still pretty, the rest have been somewhat stressed. There is no question that neglecting their humidity environment would be irresponsible. A "wet" humidistat with a smart-bar type of damppchaser system seems to me the best. This will maintain enough soundboard to support positive downbearing, and prevent action deterioration. Each one of the pianos I inspected were musically viable pianos, with good power and ring time. This could change if the humidity environment is neglected. It is true that any piano in North America, whether made for a more humid climate or not, will experience extremes of humidity which can cause significant structural deterioration. The "North American Climate" is simply one which sees prolonged humidity extremes; this is not unique to us, but it is much different than most parts of the piano-building world (especially Japan and Korea). Market-destination oriented piano building won't prevent cracks in soundboards, but it will reduce incidences of negative bearing/short ring time, loose action pinning and tuning pins. As piano technicians we owe it to our customers to be as objective as possible about these pianos. Our objectivity is our credibility. We cannot truthfully say that these pianos will be bad in America. We should be specific about the problem and its solution without joining in on the name-calling. On the one hand, there is no doubt that a large influx of used import Yamahas could cut into the sales of new Yamahas (most likely the real reason why money is being spent on a campaign exists against "gray market" pianos). Used pianos of any kind are a "threat" to new piano sales (unless the used piano is on a new piano showroom floor), and it seems that Yamaha owners don't readily resell their pianos. So a market for used Yamahas and Kawais does exist which has been successfully tapped by the importers. Based on the pricing, however, the real market affect is probably on the Samicks, Young Changs, and the host of other new piano names mostly from China - the Yamahas most affected would be the entry-level Georgia-made pianos. The reaction to imported pianos is akin to the fear of "dumping." But these pianos are not cheap. The pricing required for a dealer to make a profit in the sale of a "gray market" used piano positions these pianos squarely in the Yamaha used retail market. Most grands have to resell in the 5 figure range to be profitable. The reaction of our community shows our own fear: those of us who rebuild pianos see a threat from the imported used Yamahas, too. This can further affect our objectivity. But the problems and solutions are typical: The problems fall into technical and business categories: the technical problems are easily addressed, or neglected to the peril of the owner; the business problems (misrepresentation, etc.) aren't any different than what we normally deal with, anyway. We won't make these pianos go away, but we can make a difference as piano technicians. The makers and sellers of new pianos has a duty to their profession to ensure the success of their enterprise. Piano technicians want them to be successful, but our primary duty is to give our clients good advice and service. We need to be strong and clear: these pianos might be OK, but they MUST have "smart-bar" type "wet" Damppchaser systems to prevent structural deterioration, and eventually an occasional grand may require repinning. My colleague Terry Ferrell has demonstrated that even the 42% systems are really around 60% - not a resounding vote of confidence for the accuracy of the product's claims, but a very useful piece of information relating to the used imported Japanese pianos. Frankly, with the availability of the "smart-bar" Dampp-chaser system, we have no reason not to attempt to persuade all of our clients on the system. But the installation is essential in the imported used Japanese piano. On the other hand, In a message dated 6/27/00 7:22:53 AM Pacific Daylight Time, mfarrel2@tampabay.rr.com writes: << What exactly is the state of parts availablity for grey-market Japanese pianos. I see Schaff is now selling Yamaha parts. Is this only for North American Yamahas? Are action/keyboard/whateverelse parts different on the North American VS Japan market pianos? Terry Farrell Piano Tuning & Service Tampa, Florida mfarrel2@tampabay.rr.com >>
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