While it's nice that some list members are ambitious enough to imagine PTG becoming The Piano Police, I think one practical response to the general situation is to give Larry Fine and Steve Brady, who are working together on the 4th edition of The Piano Book, plenty of feedback. I recall that at Kansas City they were looking for survey participants regarding brand new pianos. I'm sure either of them would enjoy hearing directly from you about specific and general observations of the quality of new and used pianos, and that your input would make the book even more useful to the general public. Regarding the "Underwriter lab" concept: I recall that shortly after Larry Fines first edition he received communications from the legal departments of several manufacturers who threatened legal action if he continued to publish his (and his survey participants') candid opinions of certain pianos. I believe the result was that his 2nd edition had an insert advising readers that certain brands (Samick & Baldwin?) weren't reviewed due to those legal threats. I think the manufacturers eventually realized that that was more damning in the consumers' eye than finding that *certain* models are less desirable. Larry was pretty unhappy with those legal threats, and generally speaking PTG Boards and Executive Directors are even more averse to legal suits than highly motivated individuals Patrick Draine.
This PTG archive page provided courtesy of Moy Piano Service, LLC