'Grey Market' Yamahas- again

[Delwin D Fandrich]

OK folks. It's time for a reality check.



> John Woodrow wrote:
> >
> > The other aspect that is always raised is the 'seasoned for
> > destination' marketing claim of Yamaha. I live in a fairly high
> > humidity zone and these piano do not appear to have any unusual
> > problem. Has anyone experienced poor stability in these imported
> > pianos? If so, was this above what you would normally expect from
> > moving any piano from a high to lower humidity zone.

I've heard both positions stated by folks working for Yamaha. Yes, certain
pianos are "seasoned for their destination." No, all pianos are built on the
same line. Take your pick.
 Robert Goodale wrote:

> While I am not personally experienced with these imported "used
> institutional" pianos, it is my understanding, (from hearing this topic
> again and again), that these pianos were "seasoned" during construcion
> for the humid climate of the eastern pacific rim, specifically Japan and
> surounding Islands. This, of course, is compounded with the fact that
> they have lived in this climate for twenty years or more. The issue
> seems to be that when these instruments are brought to the much drier
> and seasonally varying U.S. climates, (perhaps with the exception of
> southern Florida or other notorious humid climates), that they literally
> begin to fall apart within a relatively short time. Specifically, the
> pin block becomes loose/delaminated, the soundboard begins cracking and
> falling apart, and the bridges crack and cause the pins to become loose.
> This of course is in addition to worn action components.

What seems to be lost in these discussions is the way early Yamaha pianos
reacted to the US climate during the 60's and early 70's.  Many of the early
pianos Yamaha exported to the US also exhibited climate related problems when
they were exposed to our climate. To their credit, Yamaha was very quick to
respond, both in terms of warranty coverage -- working with Yamaha in those days
was an absolute joy compared with struggling with a US or European manufacturer
-- and in their manufacturing processes. The problems went away.

Now they are showing up again. This time in the form of pianos that were built
by Yamaha during the same period, but which were sold and used in Japan. They
are now being bought up -- cheap -- and shipped to the US and sold -- for a lot
more money! -- mostly on the coattails of the good reputation that Yamaha has
built up over the years.

Why should we expect these pianos to react any differently than any other used
pianos that are coming from a particularly humid climate into one that is
considerably less humid? Come to that, since many of these pianos are coming out
of various educational facilities, why should we expect them to be in any better
condition than pianos coming out of a typical US college or university? Many, if
not most, of the problems that plague these pianos can be traced to:
1)    There are radical differences between the climate that these pianos were
exposed to for lo, these many years, and the climate found in most of the US.
Try moving a 30 year old piano of nearly any manufacture from a university in
Louisiana to a private home in Eastern Oregon sometime. That board is going to
pop open like Humpty Dumpty's head.
2)    These are USED pianos. WELL used. THESE ARE NOT NEW PIANOS! They were sold
at rock bottom prices to these exporters for a reason. Many were heavily used in
colleges and/or universities. Many of them are simply worn out. Anyone -- and I
do mean anyone! -- buying a 30 year old, heavily used, piano from a US college
or university without first having it carefully inspected by a
technician/rebuilder ought to have their foolish head examined.
3)    Being used pianos sold mostly by used piano dealers, these pianos have
been cleaned up, shined up, slicked and sold. They have not been rebuilt. They
do not have new actions. They rarely, if ever, have new hammers. They do not
have new strings. They do not have new pinblocks. They do not have new
soundboards. This is a free market economy. Being mostly Yamaha's --sometimes
Kawai's -- they can be sold for good prices without having much work to them as
long as the casework is clean and shiny. Does anyone seriously think that any of
the dealers selling these things are going to rebuild them first? I don't think
so. We've looked into these things, too. We couldn't sell them they way they
were and we couldn't find any way to fix them the way we would want to and make
the dollars work out, so we've left them alone.



> It occures to me that so long as the rim is well in tack, these pianos
> should be purchased only under the assumption that they will require a
> complete rebuilding upon arrival, including a new block, board, and
> bridge cap. Under this accepted understanding, the most logical choice
> would be to purchase the worst of the lot being offered rather than the
> best, thus being less expensive and more profitable in the end.
>
> Rob Goodale, RPT

Bingo. The grand prize goes to Rob Goodale, RPT.

As I said, it's time for a serious reality check here. These pianos are nothing
more or less than what they are. There is no conspiracy. There are no secrets.
These are simply very heavily used Yamaha and/or Kawai pianos, mostly coming out
of educational facilities, mostly in need of extensive service work that they
are not going to get. They are being sold on the basis of the good name and
reputation of their builders. But, surely, this sort of thing has been going on
for decades with pianos built and used in the US. Why should we be surprised
when some enterprising entrepreneur does it with pianos built and used in Japan.

Regards,

Del