[CAUT] S&S Hearing Aids!?

[johnsond]

Hi-

Lots of good comments.  We all know that our industry would be in a very 
sorry state if only good players with money bought good pianos.  Painful 
as it is for us to witness, I suppose Steinway can't really be faulted 
for following marketing trends.  Who hasn't noticed what has been done 
with probably the King of brand name accessories?.......   
Harley-Davidson.  As long as these products are marketed through the 
web, chances are the majority of customers will also be owners.  I 
suppose that fits.  Obviously pianos and motorcycles are very different 
markets, but there is enough material there for someone to finish a 
graduate degree in the study.  I think also some of us have warned of 
what could be lost in our own organization as we sort the balance 
between growing into a larger, potentially more influential voice in the 
industry and yet holding on to the traditional meaningful standards 
which made us want to join in the first place.  Let's just hope we never 
see the accessories bought into department stores, cause the next step 
would be a dedicated aisle at Fleet Farm (god forbid) !   As for me, I 
think I'll pass on replacing my old, worn S&S tee-shirts. 

cheers~

dennis.