Samick is crap?

[Paul McCloud]

The dealer I used to work for sold Samicks for many years.  I started
working there in 1988, and my first experience with them was that all the
keys had to be eased, right out of the box.  Apparently, the wood was dried
down too much, and the keys would swell from the moisture.  It was my first
job in the piano business.  I learned to tune on Samicks.  Though the pins
were often ridiculously tight, they were very consistent.  Over the next 6
years or so, the Samick  pianos got better and better.  They finally fixed
the key problem, and I really thought they were a good value for the money.
Klaus Fenner had been redesigning their pianos, and the tone was really
good.  Parts were easily available.  We sold the "crap" out of them.
What happened in the mid '90's was the Asian economic flu.  The Korean
economy collapsed, and there was no cash flow.  Samick moved manufacturing
to Indonesia.  The pianos went to hell in a handbasket.  I swear the wood
was so green, you could plant a keystick and grow a tree.  Keysticks
warped, quality went way down.  They came out with new models which were
nothing like the one's I'd seen.  We stopped selling them.
Over the subsequent years, frankly Samick has made a dramatic comeback. 
Though we don't carry them anymore, I wish we did.  The quality is back,
and their factory also produces many of the famous brands we all know.  And
they are really stellar now.  The SMC Corp. is like Aeolian was, with a
GM-like family of brands.  They gobbled up Young Chang, but had to disgorge
after the Korean government pressed antitrust issues against that.  
My point is, Samick has had some challenges, put out some bad stuff,
whatever, but don't count them out.  The Samick line is only one of many
models they produce.  Like in cars, there are good and better models
produced in the same factory.  And, in case you don't like Korean-produced
pianos, they have relocated to the US for their production.  They found it
cheaper to produce here than in Korea.  I just wish all these businesses
that left would do that.  Give them a break.
	JMHO.
	Paul McCloud, RPT
	San Diego


Paul McCloud
Service Technician for PianoSD.com
www.pianoservsd.com 
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> [Original Message]
> From: Tom Sivak <tvaktvak at sbcglobal.net>
> To: Pianotech List <pianotech at ptg.org>
> Date: 06/04/2008 6:07:14 AM
> Subject: RE: Samick is crap?
>
> At a local college where I am the technician, we have
> about 5 Yamaha P22's, and 4 or 5 Samick SU121A's.  
> These pianos endure horrible environmental shifts,
> from radiator-generated heat in the winter (extremely
> low humidity), to open windows and high humidity (the
> college is about two blocks from Lake Michigan) in the
> spring and summer months.
>
> Surprisingly, I find that the Samicks hold their tune
> far better than the Yamahas in these extreme
> conditions.   I do find, however, that there are more
> technical problems with the Samicks, such as loose
> flange pins, or broken strings.  This may be partly
> due to the fact that they are a bit older than the
> Yamahas.
>
> Just an observation,
>
> Tom Sivak
>
>
>  
> --- pianolover 88 <pianolover88 at hotmail.com> wrote:
>
> > 
> > Same with Steinway in many cases.
> > 
> > Terry Peterson
> > 
> > From: eve_ane at hotmail.co.uk
> > To: pianotech at ptg.org
> > Subject: RE: Samick is crap?
> > Date: Wed, 4 Jun 2008 01:06:45 +0100
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > Really? Ones I've played on before seemed to be well
> > serviced, but something was missing.. I played organ
> > and Bryn Athyn Cathedral before and as I was told
> > once by John Binsfeld, that organ is a fine
> > instrument, but it simply has no soul. So far with
> > Samick my oppinion is same, perhaps they are well
> > made, and maybe are crap outa the box, but even with
> > excelent prep work still missing the "soul"...
> > 
> >  
> > 
> >  
> > 
> > Alicia
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > From: deanmay at pianorebuilders.com
> > To: pianotech at ptg.org
> > Subject: RE: Samick is crap?
> > Date: Tue, 3 Jun 2008 19:03:55 -0400
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > Samick is often crap out of the box, but like many
> > Asian pianos can be turned into a fairly decent
> > piano with some excellent prep work. The basics are
> > there for a nice instrument. It’s up to you to coax
> > it out! J
> >  
> > 
> > Dean
> > Dean May             cell 812.239.3359 
> > PianoRebuilders.com   812.235.5272 
> > Terre Haute IN  47802
> >  
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > From: pianotech-bounces at ptg.org
> > [mailto:pianotech-bounces at ptg.org] On Behalf Of A E
> > Sent: Tuesday, June 03, 2008 5:03 PM
> > To: Pianotech List
> > Subject: RE: HORUGEL PIANOS
> >  
> > Samick is crap...I was playing on one today at a
> > local shop... yuk!
> >  
> > Alicia 
> > 
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