Steinway Parts Inquiry

[Steve Cannon]

Charles Ball/University of Texas at Austin


At our school we have several German Steinways.  In the past I have been
able to obtain action parts directly from Hamburg.  Recently I tried to
obtain parts for a client's model C German Steinway and discovered that, not
only has Steinway prohibited Renner from selling these parts directly, but
has also prohibited Hamburg as well.  Those of us in the US, according to a
letter I received from the Hamburg factory, must obtain parts for our German
Steinways through New York.

Here's the problem: in 1992 I ordered a set of hammers preglued in Hamburg
to the shanks & flanges for a model D through New York.  After some time I
received the Renner parts, but the hammers had been bored and glued in New
York.  Remarkably, the New York factory was unaware that the specifications
for hammer boring differs between the New York and Hamburg factories (the
string heights differ between the same models).  After several calls to
Michael Mohr and Glorie LeFrac, I returned these parts and much later
received shipment of the parts originally requested.  The cost was $822.00.
These parts from Germany come ready to install, travel, regulate,
etc--usually the strike point is very close or exact, and the workmanship is
superb.

A few weeks ago, after being rebuffed by the Hamburg factory, I called
Glorie for a quote for similar parts for a model C and was appalled to get a
price of $1664, plus $88.00 shipping from Germany (plus shipping from New
York).  The quote for a set of shanks & flanges for a German Steinway was
$895.00, plus shipping!!  The same Renner parts with a slightly different
knuckle placement for the American pianos cost a bit over $400.  The same
parts, with the exception of geometry, from Renner USA are about $325.00.

Steinway has effectively foreclosed all options for obtaining parts for
German Steinways except through New York, and has more than doubled the cost
over their already more costly parts.  This is a cruel treatment for their
many loyal clients, most of whom can not afford these prices.

To complicate matters, I spoke with Michael Mohr about this situation, and
he claims that the extra cost is due to the labor costs in Germany.  Michael
contends that the Renner shanks & flanges sold from the New York price list
have the same geometry as those used in Hamburg, and offers to bore and glue
up the Renner hammers in New York for less.  I am concerned about the
problems I encountered in 1992.

Has anyone experienced this difficulty?  I would be very grateful for
suggestions.

Steve Cannon
Austin, TX