<HTML><HTML>Excellent ideas on piano pu= rchasing, Fred, I'd add a specific call for an individual assessment by the technician to th= is. You may have this in mind already, but the spec is ambiguous, and could = as written include three performers and no tech. The University for which I do part-time work, the University of the Pacific,= recently bought ten Steinway grands and six Bostons. I was taken on the sel= ection (both locally and to New York). Even though these are first-rate inst= ruments, I did give several the boot for technical reaso, and they were glad= they took me. Bob Davis</HTML>