Hi Joel, I'm pretty strong on the 243's for institutional use. There is no doubt that they hold up. Maybe not as elegantly, but one of the things I see a fair amount of is abuse. You know, get a couple of students to shuffle the units around, etc. The KK's and Yamahas . . . don't like it much. Cabinets can be trashed on any piano, but the 243's don't loose their integrity as easily as most of the others. I don't get to see well-used Walters, but the ones I do see look like they might hold up as well. Our extremely dry climate is a factor, too. Aluminum and plastic don't maintain structural continuity throughout the action power train, so the actions really fall apart, or at least get clacky and out-of-regulation soon. I like the actions with 4 brackets, quick-adjusting balance rails, well-treated felts in the high-wear areas, adjustable keyslips, and of course. . .'snug' pinblocks of the 243's. When well-trained in their youth, these things tune up easily, voice easily, have easy access to the action (although it's more secure and less likely to fall to vandalism), and warranty issues are handled extremely well. For 25 years. For 25 years. Oh, and does the school know that the warranty on the 243 is 25 years? I work on many 24*'s from many years ago, (alot are blonde,ugh), that are still going strong. Where the same venue has 10 year-old KK's and Yamahas that are. . . in need of a complete rebuild. If not just plain used-up. For players, the music desk/rest is very handy and sturdy. The dip and aftertouch are sufficient and easy to change after heavy use, and the bass has a superior structure than most other studios in that price range. Well voiced, the bass on a 243 just sounds more... like a bass. I could go on more, at risk of all kinds of flames, etc, but I truly believe that there are great places for YC's, KK's, and Yamahas..... besides the institutional setting. Just my opinion. You asked. Guy Nichols, RPT At 10:46 PM 5/26/99 -0400, you wrote: >Dear List, > >One of the high schools in town is going to acquire new pianos. >The choir teacher was told that since Yamaha pianos are built by Young Chang >they would get a better deal for the same quality as Yamaha to buy Young >Chang. It is my opinion YC's do not belong in places where serious music is >studied (for a long list of reasons), but perhaps they have improved under my >nose within the last year or two. I know Yamaha builds pianos in Japan and >the US and has some connection with Pearl River pianos, but do they actually >have Young Chang build some of their pianos? And if they do are they the same >quality as the Japanese and American Yamahas? Most of the schools I service >have Yamaha P22 or P202, Kawai UST-7 or UST-8C, Baldwin 243, or Charles >Walter studio. What one of these pianos would you recommend the school buy or >could you suggest another piano or model. I'm not talking grands right now. >The price per piano must be under $5000.00. > >Thanks for your input. > >Joel Swafford, RPT >
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