I want to chime in on a Samick warranty issue I had. Hopefully I can do this without whining unduly. About 3 years ago I tuned a Samick 5 foot'ish baby grand in Dallas, TX. This piano's bass strings were rattling, so I let down one string's tension and pulled it off the hitch pin. I was shocked to see it spin about 3 revolutions. Yes, 3 full twists seemed excessive, especially when this was most likely done in the factory, (what dealership actually pays enough prep money for a tech to twist a whole set of bass strings from top to bottom), but that wasn't the biggest surprise. They were twisted against the wrap, NOT IN THE DIRECTION OF THE WRAP. I was always taught to find the wrap end and twist in the same direction that the end was pointing. This is supposed to tighten the wrap. If the wrap was clockwise, then twist 1/2 turn clockwise. I have also read in the PTG journal not to twist more than 1 full turn. I was a dutiful tech and lowered the bass tension, removed the strings and reinstalled them with up to 1 full turn in the right direction. They sounded pretty good for a 5 foot grand after being pulled up to pitch. I patted myself on the back (thinking that I had done a good deed), and comp'ed the extra time on this clients tuning bill, and explained that it was such a minor issue that no factory would want to mess with such a "nickel and dime" problem as twisting a set of bass strings. Guess what happened? Within a week, the whole set sounded as bad as before, and maybe even worse. I then realized that since the wraps had been twisted the wrong way, and had at least 3 full twists, that they were loose, and the strings were ruined, apparently right from the factory. The family had owned the piano for less than 10 years (or whatever Samick's warranty was), so I called Samick. The technician/public relations person who answered said that since the piano wasn't less than a year or two old, that Samick wouldn't warranty a set of bad bass strings. He then explained that even if they were to warrant the strings, that the client would have to pay for all of the labor. I then griped that the warranty should cover factory defects (including ruined sets of bass strings), and he then made this bizaar proposal. If I would fabricate a higher serial number (for a ficticious newer piano that was the same model, but theoretically only 1 year old), then he could comp a new set of strings. I could then charge the client for my labor and offer them a "free" set of bass strings. YUCK! I am not a liar, thief, or a cheat. I then "reamed" this guy tongue-lashing (that would make Dr. Laura blush), and immediately declined his (Samick's) offer. Darn, I'm whining, aren't I. Oh well. The moral of this story is: don't do freeby work thinking that you're doing the factory a favor. If they screwed up, charge accordingly. Be warned, Brian Henselman, RPT musicmasters@att.net BTW: It is possible that this piano was sabotaged by a disgruntled tech after the piano was built (with 3 twists going against the wraps), but since this piano was built by a largely 3rd world labor market, those strings really may have been installed backward by Samick. Any way you look at it Samick should stand by their warranty, and no one there should have suggested that I falsify serial numbers. I only wish that I had documented that technician's name who answered my call at Samick's technician's-support number and reported them to Samick's management.
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