Manufacturing small scales

[Frank Cahill]

Phil_Glenn@yca.CCMAIL.compuserve.com wrote:
> 
>      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


Yep, I think you hit it on the head.  And you, a rep from young chang!
This is an eye opener.  

What happens when we can no longer find cheap Chinese labor? I don't
want to think about it.
-- 

Frank Cahill
Associate Member
Northern Va