A lot of this problem with used pianos from a different climate, is that they have climatized in a different environment, and when they go to a 'different' one they don't hold up. We have different climates in North America, so if the 'grey' market piano goes to a similar climate, it won't have a problem. The places with humid summers and dry winters are where the problem will be most prevalent. Or a place that id dry all year. Years ago I had a Yamaha grand from the early 70's, I informed Yamamha of the loose pin issue, probably late 70's. They sent me larger pins and had me repin it. I think it was around this time they changed the moisture content in the wood and changed the humidity of their facilities when making product for the North American market. Someone from Yamaha may know the exact date when the change was, and confirm, or not, my recollection. John Ross Windsor, Nova Scotia On 30-08-2012, at 10:39 AM, David Renaud <drjazzca at gmail.com> wrote: > I have had to juice a dozen grey market yamahas with ca glue, seen a plethora of sound board cracks, seen a soundboard peeling off the rim(U3) , seen frames coming apart. I have almost never had To deal with these same problems on a Yamaha "built for this market" I have also Seen some intestine plastic parts, flanges, plastic damper levers etc. on Asian yamahas beyond anything I have seen on north American yamahas. > > I am of the opinion that most sites I have seen saying they are ok are connected to people selling them. One seller of grey market yamahas here produced a sticker "certified for north American climate" they put in all these pianos. They can say anything hey want, I still end up stuck trying to fix them.......lots of them.....lots of problems. > > PLUS , Yamaha will not sell parts for them. They do want the Serial number before they will fill out an order.......good luck with that complication in the future. > > > David Renaud > RPT > Ottawa, Canada. > > > > Sent from my iPad > > On 2012-08-30, at 9:16 AM, Jim Ialeggio <jim at grandpianosolutions.com> wrote: > >> The Grey Market is new to me...it is a price point that reflects some of my current client's attitude towards spending money, even though some of them have plenty of bucks they are sitting on. >> >> I Did some research last night on what grey market means, and I must say, that the info that seems the most credible, matches my original gut instinct. That is, with the exception of the very first yamaha introductions to the US in the early 70's, that the line about RH levels at the fabrication being inappropriate to RH levels in this country (wherever in this country's wildly varying climate you mean) is more about protecting piano sales for new dealers (and of course the manufacturer) rather than a degrading functionality issue. >> >> This especially as all manufacturers worldwide, including Kawai, (with the exception Yamaha I think) only run one RH level at their plants manufacturing for worldwide distribution. RH control is an end user's concern, to dealt with as you would a new US made or anywhere made instrument. >> >> So, my question for those of you who have been around here longer than I, and have seen more of the "in-the-field" track record on these pianos is, particularly in the Northeast, but not exclusively, what is your experience about the actual functionality of these post 1970's grey market yamaha/kawais. Do the RH concerns create function issues beyond normal in service RH effects we would expect to see in any piano, or is it mostly or all manufacturer/ new piano sales inspired fear mongering. >> >> Jim Ialeggio >> >> -- >> Jim Ialeggio >> jim at grandpianosolutions.com >> 978 425-9026 >> Shirley Center, MA >> -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: <https://www.moypiano.com/ptg/pianotech.php/attachments/20120830/6920efcc/attachment-0001.htm>
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