deep thoughts: grey/gray

[Wayne Hohle]

hi there
i was tuning a piano the other day, a kawaii upright, and i was thinking 'what a
nice grey market piano' nice finish, nice tone , nice pins, a good deal for these
folks who said that they had it for a few years, ten or more.
then i started thinking 'what is a grey market piano'?
the folks who supply these pianos sell them all over world as used pianos, some
good some not so good. the stores who buy them for resale, even here in north
america either tell their customers or don't tell them that they are used pianos
from off shore. some say, so i've been told , that they are not 'wet backs' and
sell them as almost new pianos all shined up. some work and some don't and a good
store will back it up and send out a good tech to make the best of the situation
for the people concerned.
then we have the pianos that are made here in north america, some good, some not so
good that get sold all over the country. in dry climates and in damp climates.
pianos move with the people all over the place. maybe a piano was new in florida or
new brunswick and got on a truck 20 years later and wound up in arizona or alberta,
or lived in a basement some where for years and then in an estate sale  went to a
house by a wood stove for a few years.  or even to a piano whole sale house by the
dozen    from who knows where to who knows where some good some not so good. they
get sold and a good store sends out a good tech to make it work
i recently worked on a small yamaha grand for a family that moved to toronto 15
years ago and brought the piano with them  from hong kong. they used it as a family
would  and now where packing up to go back to hong kong with the piano going with
them. the piano was in beautiful shape. not  crack in the sound board. not a loose
pin. essentially it was a 'grey piano' it just didn't get sold. as i was working on
it i was wondering 'why isn't this thing a pile of  scape by now?"
i think it is just good pianos and not so good pianos and good techs and
.........let's leave the colour out of it, and encourage piano manintenance and a
good piano enviroment,  what do you think
wayne