>At 08:15 PM 2/27/96 -0700, you wrote: >>Hello all on the list, >> >>I have a request for information, and can think of no better place to find it >>than here. >> >>I have been asked, by "my" school, to make a recommendation for replacement >>pianos for four worn out junkers in the practise rooms. In the past, we >>have always replaced pianos with the big Yamaha uprights, (they had the >>sostenuto), but since they are no longer cost-reasonable, I have been asked >>to compare the Boston Uprights. >> I have seen the Yamaha pianos give many years of trouble free service; >> who has experience with the Boston in high use, school settings? And if you >>please, what are the specifics? Is the pinning durable? Do the hammers wear >>well? Trapwork function well enough to ignore for a year or so at a time? >> Case parts and hardware stay put and not rattle? >> All of this is really useful information, I appreciate anybodys >>thoughts on the marque. >> >>Regards, >>Ed Foote >> My own experience has been with three Boston 118Es at Stetson University Music School, here in Deland. These are 3 to 4 years old and of Japanese origin. Only since ours were made has Kawai begun to assemble Bostons in North Carolina. The Bostons were purchased (gifts from recently retired faculty) for classroom use. One is now in a vocal studio. They get regular use, but not practice room punishment. The pianists like them. (Piano faculty member chose them.) Good tone. Good action. Attractive "professional" styling. High gloss black. The technician (self) observes as follows: Though they tune up nicely, even after several years to settle down, these pianos are less tuning-stable (i.e., more affected by humidity changes) than most of the pianos the Music School owns. We do not have Humidistats and Dampp-Chasers installed in our pianos other than our two concert grands! We have 5 Yamaha P22s, 4 of them newer than the Bostons, and they are much more stable. We also have a Kawai UST-7, about 7 years old. I also service a number of UST-6 and UST7s for the LDS church locally. They do have humidity control. They behave wonderfully and have required very little maintainance with what I must assume is moderate use with minimum abuse. (I find the Boston and UST-7 similar in many respects. But I believe the scale is rather different.) From a service standpoint, I favor the P22s and the UST-7. The players might give the Bostons a slight edge (given a fresh tuning). I don't know what the cost difference was. I'm not convinced the Bostons are worth a significant premium. Additionally, when these three Bostons arrived, the key dip was shallow and the action responded accordingly. I had hoped to increase the dip wholesale by raising the balance rail. Found no way to do that, so had to adjust dip one key at a time. Maybe I missed something. Also there was a problem (not sure we ever solved it) of polyester on polyester noise when the pedals were in use. This is probably more a polyester problem than a Boston problem. I have no idea whether today's Bostons are nearly the same or vastly different from the three we have. I would expect from ours the kind of service I would expect from the Yamaha P22s and the Kawai UST-7. None of the above is, IMHO, in a class with the Yamaha U1, let alone the U3. (I am assuming, maybe wrongly, that the Boston 118 is more expensive than the P22 or UST-7.) In recent posts, the Baldwin 243 and the Charles Walter pianos were suggested for your consideration. Baldwin was for so many years THE school piano. Very few even know what a Walter is. My experiences with a large number of 243s (of most vintages except very recent) in school and church and home situations lead me to prefer (from the tuning and general service standpoint) the Yamaha P22 (better still the U1 or U3). I have worked with 4 or 5 Walters, all made 15 to 17 years ago; one lives in a church, the others in homes. Fine pianos, and I would expect those made now would be even finer. I've always preferred the Walter to the 45 in. Steinway or Sohmer. Sorry for the rambling. Bottom line is I'd go for the Yamaha P22 or Kawai UST-7 (probably not UST-8) if money was an issue (?!) and the use pattern didn't demand a larger super-industrial-strength model. Then I'd go with the U1 or U3 or Kawai's comparable offerings. Have I confused things even more? Robert V. Carr DeLand FL In the interest of full disclosure: My work at Stetson involves, on average, 6 hours a week. I am an independent RPT on speaking terms with a number of dealers for most of the brands discussed. I do virtually all the piano work for the local (Daytona Beach) Yamaha dealer. Stetson has a deal with Kawai providing 20-some of the Music School pianos (plus a keyboard lab), changing them out once a year (Big sale this weekend, folks!). The remaining 35 or so pianos including 16 Steinways, a Bosendorfer Imperial, several Baldwins, Yamahas, the Bostons, and a Kawai, are ours, thank you very much. --RVC
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