Manufacturing small scales

[Phil_Glenn@yca.CCMAIL.compuserve.com]

     In reply to some recent posts concerning manufacturers and entry level 
     or starter pianos, I thought I'd add a few (or more) words from the 
     other side of the fence.  It is true that in theory, it costs no more 
     to make a piano with a good scale as it does with a poor scale.  
     Ideally, the piano maker will produce a few prototypes with some 
     changes in each one.  The MBA's will then choose the best one by 
     having technicians and musicians test the pianos and judge them on 
     their musicality and tunibility.  This however, costs a lot of green. 
     In the real world, the piano maker won't even design their own scale.  
     They will try to find one that has been proven in the past and copy 
     it. They then put it into production and get on with it. They will go 
     through the process with the better models, but as for the starter 
     pianos, if they find a piano that sells, why change it.  It costs 
     thousands of dollars to design and build a new plate mold and the 
     profit is not available in the small pianos.  According to my math, 
     10% margin on $10,000 unit is bit better than a 10% margin on a $1,000 
     piano.  
     
     I don't know about domestic pianos, but according to PMAI, Year-to 
     -date as of March 1998  about 7400 verticals were imported into the 
     U.S. and about 7200 grands. Not much difference in unit volume, but 
     the manufacturers will be making three times the profit from the 
     grands.  This has changed over the years. There used to be a lot more 
     verticals sold than grands. Now days, many first time acoustic buyers 
     start with a grand. 
     
     I believe that all of the dozen or so manufacturers around today have 
     (some) pride and really do want to make a good instrument.  That's why 
     Young Chang hired Joe Pramberger to redesign and rescale their Korean 
     pianos.  Upper management understands that in order to compete with 
     the big boys, you must make a respectable instrument. But... on the 
     other hand, that's why they spent million's of won building a new 
     factory in China. So they can still build entry level pianos at a 
     price which can compete.  They use cheap labor and proven designs to 
     build a piano that will make money. Who can fault them for that????
     
     Upper end pianos are sold by reputation and quality.  Lower end pianos 
     are sold by price point, nothing else, because we have gotten to a 
     level where all of the starter pianos are at about the same "ok" 
     quality.   
     
     There will always be a place for good instruments but what's killed 
     the development of a "class A"  starter piano in this country is: 1. 
     non-empasis of music education in schools.  2. competition for the 
     available dollars, i.e.. computers, Nintendo  3. digital keyboards  4. 
     slow housing starts 5. Aeolean spinets.
     
     But that's just my opinion.
     
     Phil B. Glenn RPT
     National Service Manager
     Young Chang America
     Phil@youngchang.com