Grey Market etc.

[Ron Nossaman]

>> Correct. The appropriate treatment being to leave them in the climate,
if not
>> the country, for which they were built.
>
>Thats not what I meant....grin... but then you knew that.  Seriously tho if an
>instrument is shipped correctly, and given  good climatic conditions then it 
>will
>be fine.

Shipped correctly, being what... hermetically sealed in enough plastic to
insure it's arrival in another country still bathed in it's native air?
Good climate conditions would presumably then be, if not leaving the piano
in the bag, at least keeping the humidity level in it's new home as high as
it was in it's last home. Is that correct, or likely?   



>My beef with these grey market pianos is that no attempt is apparently made
>anywhere along the line to guard against the kinds of problems that a
change in
>climatic conditions presents, while then being misrepresented in wayyyy to
many
>cases as being either "just as good as new" or just plain not mentioning 
>where they
>come from or under what conditions.

You, and most everyone else seem to be making the assumption that these
pianos all left Japan in first class condition, and suffered twenty years
of climate abuse either on the way over, or after they arrived. I sort of
doubt they made the trip lashed to the deck railing, and have some
suspicions that they could very well have been in pretty sad shape before
they booked passage. Some worse than others, which might just possibly be
why some seem to be better or worse than others by the time they arrive in
their new country. Pianos have been demonstrated to be somewhat less than
immortal here, and I'm willing to presume that's not a local phenomenon.
The fact is they're used pianos, often heavily used pianos, like used
pianos in your own neighborhood. They have spent 20 or 35 years in unknown
(but probably inadequately controlled, if I may again use our own
neighborhoods as an example) climate conditions. You don't, and I don't,
have any idea how much worse they are at point of sale than they were at
trade in. Most of us might very well have condemned these pianos in their
original owners' living rooms, had we gotten a chance to see them there. In
fact, it's fairly likely that's exactly why they were traded in the first
place, by virtue of having been condemned in situ by some Japanese tech
with high professional standards. How do people come to be shopping for new
pianos in your country, if not by similar situation? Having been sold,
hauled off, and shipped around the world, these pianos might very well have
not deteriorated a measurable bit by the experience, and no amount of care
in transit or climate control after the sale will heal them up from the
ravages of their past life. As a general rule, whatever their condition,
they will not do well in the "average" North American home's humidity
ranges, only because these ranges are statistically below those of the
"average" home in Japan. That's the way it works. Folks in a higher
humidity tend to report better results than those in lower humidity levels,
but there just ain't no bloody way someone in Arizona is going to keep
their house at Japan average humidity levels. If the piano was junk when it
left Japan, it doesn't really matter where it's shipped. It will still be
junk when it arrives.



>Course, its not as fun as just bashing about the concept of "Grey Market 
>Pianos"

Who said this was fun? The bottom line is that used up pianos are being
exported from Japan, shipped around the world, and sold for more than
they're worth under names people have come to equate with dependability. If
these were new pianos, we'd have a different situation, but they're not.
The climate control issue is just one of the details. Others can defend,
promote, sell, and service them all they like. I don't consider them a
viable product any more than the old uprights a number of enterprising
souls used to travel the country buying up for minimal patch up, new
keytops, refinish, and resale. I'll continue to recommend against them when
I'm asked.


>Why doesnt anyone mention Kawaii in all this ??? just wondering.

I didn't because I see so few of them, but the Yamahas are everywhere.

Ron N