<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN">
<HTML xmlns="http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40" xmlns:v =
"urn:schemas-microsoft-com:vml" xmlns:o =
"urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" xmlns:w =
"urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:word" xmlns:st1 =
"urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags"><HEAD><TITLE>Light fixtures</TITLE>
<META http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1">
<META content="MSHTML 6.00.2900.3020" name=GENERATOR><!--[if !mso]>
<STYLE>v\:* {
        BEHAVIOR: url(#default#VML)
}
o\:* {
        BEHAVIOR: url(#default#VML)
}
w\:* {
        BEHAVIOR: url(#default#VML)
}
.shape {
        BEHAVIOR: url(#default#VML)
}
</STYLE>
<![endif]--><o:SmartTagType name="City"
namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags"></o:SmartTagType><o:SmartTagType
name="PlaceType"
namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags"></o:SmartTagType><o:SmartTagType
name="PlaceName"
namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags"></o:SmartTagType><o:SmartTagType
name="place"
namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags"></o:SmartTagType><o:SmartTagType
name="PersonName"
namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags"></o:SmartTagType><!--[if !mso]>
<STYLE>
st1\:*{behavior:url(#default#ieooui) }
</STYLE>
<![endif]-->
<STYLE>
<!--
/* Font Definitions */
@font-face
        {font-family:Helvetica;
        panose-1:2 11 6 4 2 2 2 2 2 4;}
@font-face
        {font-family:Tahoma;
        panose-1:2 11 6 4 3 5 4 4 2 4;}
/* Style Definitions */
p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal
        {margin:0in;
        margin-bottom:.0001pt;
        font-size:12.0pt;
        font-family:"Times New Roman";}
a:link, span.MsoHyperlink
        {color:blue;
        text-decoration:underline;}
a:visited, span.MsoHyperlinkFollowed
        {color:purple;
        text-decoration:underline;}
p
        {mso-margin-top-alt:auto;
        margin-right:0in;
        mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
        margin-left:0in;
        font-size:12.0pt;
        font-family:"Times New Roman";}
span.EmailStyle19
        {mso-style-type:personal-reply;
        font-family:"Times New Roman";
        color:windowtext;
        font-weight:normal;
        font-style:normal;
        text-decoration:none none;}
@page Section1
        {size:8.5in 11.0in;
        margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in;}
div.Section1
        {page:Section1;}
-->
</STYLE>
</HEAD>
<BODY lang=EN-US
style="WORD-WRAP: break-word; khtml-nbsp-mode: space; khtml-line-break: after-white-space"
vLink=purple link=blue bgColor=#ffffff>
<DIV><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><FONT face=Arial size=2>
<DIV><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman">Boston and Kawai
are NOT, repeat, NOT, NADA, NO WAY the same pianos. This is one of my
biggest "piss me off" pet peeves in the world of stencil pianos and misleading
marketing tactics of manufacturers.</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman"
size=3></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman">Let's be
perfectly clear. This is not a personal attack on any individual within
Steinway. In fact I have known people there over the years and was even
approached long ago about a possible position. I turned it down
because I was born a south-westerner and had no interest in living there.
But there should be no mistake a Boston is <U>not</U> a
Kawai.</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman"
size=3></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman">For lack of a
better term <SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><FONT
face="Times New Roman">Bostons</FONT></SPAN> are "striped down"
Kawais. Engineering features you will find on a Kawai
are removed. One of the more obvious of these are the carbon
composite actions. Kawai spent millions $ and years of research developing
this technology. If you have not had the opportunity to work on one of the
most recent versions of these you are missing out on a real treat. They
repeat like lightening, they are incredibly consistent, and you can forget
about humidity problems. I have heard some technicians reject the
idea but then again cast iron was rejected in the 1700s because everyone
thought iron had no place in music. It's techno-evolution, get over
it. We don't use vacuum tubes anymore either. The Boston <U>does
not</U> have ABS parts. I asked one of their marketing executives, (name
with held), why this was. Simply put Kawai made an executive decision that
they were not going to share this technology with a competitor. Too much
money and sweat went into development to give it away to another label. In
spite my protest, (and I think more for political reasons), the university
purchased two of them. The jack flanges are all too tight and sticking
because the birds eyes were made too wide for the slot. With ABS parts
this would have never been a problem.</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman"
size=3></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman">The action rails
are not the same. Bostons use Steinway-type flanges which means they have
to use aluminum rails with modified extruded surfaces to
accommodate them. Steinway flanges are shaped the way they are in
order to fit on Steinway brass rails. There are no logical reasons
for them to be that shape on a Boston except to give a salesman
something to talk about.</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman"
size=3></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Times New Roman"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">You won't find
the same hammers on a Boston either. </SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Not unlike Steinway they are more soft and fluffy.
You can expect to spend more time voicing them and a lot more
maintenance in the long run. The scale is also different, lower
tension and more reminiscent of a Steinway. Some of the tuning pins
are in a different order in terms of which pin goes to which
string. I don't know to what extent, but I have seen many Bostons
with not as nice of a finish and in some cases lacquer instead of poly.
The list goes on.</SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman"
size=3></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman">There is one
other major difference. An unknowledgeable shopper under the
influence of a skilled salesman will pay more, (or at least equal), for an
inferior Boston than for a genuine Kawai. Having said all that
Steinway must be applauded for one major accomplishment. Be it moral or
not, deceptive or not, it <U>is</U> the capitalist way of doing
business. They have some very skilled marketing people who have succeeded
in a creative way to make money without actually having produced
anything. Who can blame them for that? Viva
capitalism!</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman"
size=3></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman">Rob Goodale,
RPT</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman">Las Vegas,
NV</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><FONT
face="Times New Roman"></FONT></SPAN> </DIV></FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE dir=ltr
style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">
<DIV class=Section1>
<DIV>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman"><FONT size=3><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 9pt; FONT-FAMILY: Helvetica">The name "<st1:City
w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Boston</st1:place></st1:City>" and associated
with "Steinway" made them about</SPAN><o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 9pt; FONT-FAMILY: Helvetica">8 to 9 thousand dollars
more.</SPAN></FONT><o:p></o:p></P></DIV>
<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<DIV>
<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">I recently contacted a dealer
which carries both for prices on Boston GP-215 (7'1") and Kawai RX-6 (7'0")
and was told they were exactly the same price, both list and sell
price. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P></DIV>
<DIV>
<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P></DIV>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 12pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<DIV><SPAN
style="WORD-SPACING: 0px; border-spacing: 0px 0px; khtml-text-decorations-in-effect: none; apple-text-size-adjust: auto; orphans: 2; widows: 2">
<DIV>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT color=black><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 9pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Helvetica"><FONT
face="Times New Roman"><FONT size=3>Jeff Tanner,
RPT<o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></SPAN></FONT></P></DIV>
<DIV>
<P class=MsoNormal><st1:place w:st="on"><FONT face="Times New Roman"><FONT
size=3><st1:PlaceType w:st="on"><FONT color=black><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 9pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Helvetica">University</SPAN></FONT></st1:PlaceType><FONT
color=black><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 9pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Helvetica"> of
<st1:PlaceName w:st="on">South
Carolina</st1:PlaceName></SPAN></FONT></FONT></FONT></st1:place></SPAN></P></DIV></DIV></DIV></BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>