While it might be true that a manufacture will slightly alter specifications for different regions of the world, there is no such thing as a piano that is design to work for an entire geographic region in terms of climate; the US for example has almost every extreme possible. Besides, these pianos are located in homes that are in very similar climate controlled environments. The reason that this is such a concern for the manufacturer is that the prices are set differently in each region: a C5 in Japan sells for about $18,000, while in the US the same piano costs more like $31,000. If there is too much cross contamination, the price structure here in the US would begin to destabilize. Bradley M. Snook Rice University, Shepherd School of Music
This PTG archive page provided courtesy of Moy Piano Service, LLC