[CAUT] Boston/Kawai comparison, was New Upright Pianos

[RicB]

Hi Robert

I agree with you pretty much 100 %.  About the only thing Boston has to 
do with Kawaii is that Kawaii makes them for Steinway.  I do not agree 
with you in saying they are a "striped down Kawaii".  Its not just a 
matter of the ABS parts.  Bostons are a Steinway design, built by 
someone else.  I expect about the only thing that will change (if 
anything at all) when Bostons are made in China by somebody else is that 
for a time there will be some quality issues.

As for price issues.  I certainly dont see that Bostons are worth more 
then comparable Yamahas, Kawaii's or similiar instruments. Price lists 
over here are similar for similar sizes. The fellow importing them in 
Norway screws up the price a bit... but then he does that for all 
Steinway products. If one buys in Danmark there is a significant price 
difference and Bostons come in line price wise with other such instruments.

I just like their sound.  And one of the things I like most about them 
is that when you have the top closed and the front board on... they are 
quite pianos.  Great for practice rooms.  Yet if you want them to speak 
with a louder voice... just open the top up.  They do seem to more 
tuning-wise sensitive to climate changes however. But I have not 
experienced any action problems with them myself. Quite the opposite 
really. 

As for claims about the superiority of ABS parts.  I dont have enough 
experience with them to have an opinion really.  I like Paul Revenkos 
constant reminders about opinions :)  That said I do know that Yamaha 
techs and reps at Hamamatu told me Yamaha rejected going down that same 
path because of the contribution to impact sounds, and hence the overall 
impact on the general sound picture that ABS parts make.  And I have 
heard this several other places as well.  But, being self of open 
mind... well I am keenly aware of the piano community to react as you 
describe relative to the iron plate.  The only Kawaiis I see here are 
the cheapo very small uprights and I am not impressed. But then I dont 
like similar Yamahas, Samicks, etc etc ad absurdum either.

Actually,,,, if I had my dithers.... I'd like to see pianos like Ivers 
and Pond from 1910 back in their origional production glory days.  I 
keep hearing that we know so much more about piano building then we did 
back then.... but I wonder if there are different aspects of knowledge 
being talked about there.  Certainly more is quantified from a mechanics 
perspective.... but then perhaps much less is known... remembered from 
an empirical perspective.

But I ramble as is my want.

Cheers
RicB



    Light fixturesBoston and Kawai are NOT, repeat, NOT, NADA, NO WAY
    the same pianos.  This is one of my biggest "piss me off" pet peeves
    in the world of stencil pianos and misleading marketing tactics of
    manufacturers.

    Let's be perfectly clear.  This is not a personal attack on any
    individual within Steinway.  In fact I have known people there over
    the years and was even approached long ago about a possible
    position.  I turned it down because I was born a south-westerner and
    had no interest in living there.  But there should be no mistake a
    Boston is not a Kawai.

    For lack of a better term Bostons are "striped down" Kawais. 
    Engineering features you will find on a Kawai are removed.  One of
    the more obvious of these are the carbon composite actions.  Kawai
    spent millions $ and years of research developing this technology. 
    If you have not had the opportunity to work on one of the most
    recent versions of these you are missing out on a real treat.  They
    repeat like lightening, they are incredibly consistent, and you can
    forget about humidity problems.  I have heard some technicians
    reject the idea but then again cast iron was rejected in the 1700s
    because everyone thought iron had no place in music.  It's
    techno-evolution, get over it.  We don't use vacuum tubes anymore
    either.  The Boston does not have ABS parts.  I asked one of their
    marketing executives, (name with held), why this was.  Simply put
    Kawai made an executive decision that they were not going to share
    this technology with a competitor.  Too much money and sweat went
    into development to give it away to another label.  In spite my
    protest, (and I think more for political reasons), the university
    purchased two of them.  The jack flanges are all too tight and
    sticking because the birds eyes were made too wide for the slot.
    With ABS parts this would have never been a problem.

    The action rails are not the same.  Bostons use Steinway-type
    flanges which means they have to use aluminum rails with modified
    extruded surfaces to accommodate them.  Steinway flanges are shaped
    the way they are in order to fit on Steinway brass rails.  There are
    no logical reasons for them to be that shape on a Boston except to
    give a salesman something to talk about.

    You won't find the same hammers on a Boston either.  Not unlike
    Steinway they are more soft and fluffy.  You can expect to spend
    more time voicing them and a lot more maintenance in the long run. 
    The scale is also different, lower tension and more reminiscent of a
    Steinway.  Some of the tuning pins are in a different order in terms
    of which pin goes to which string.  I don't know to what extent, but
    I have seen many Bostons with not as nice of a finish and in some
    cases lacquer instead of poly.  The list goes on.

    There is one other major difference.  An unknowledgeable shopper
    under the influence of a skilled salesman will pay more, (or at
    least equal), for an inferior Boston than for a genuine Kawai. 
    Having said all that Steinway must be applauded for one major
    accomplishment.  Be it moral or not, deceptive or not, it is the
    capitalist way of doing business.  They have some very skilled
    marketing people who have succeeded in a creative way to make money
    without actually having produced anything.  Who can blame them for
    that?  Viva capitalism!

    Rob Goodale, RPT
    Las Vegas, NV

      The name "Boston" and associated with "Steinway" made them about

      8 to 9 thousand dollars more.