This is a multi-part message in MIME format. ---------------------- multipart/alternative attachment List: CHINESE PIANOS NOT JUNK!! Dave Stahl, your remarks about Chinese pianos are exaggerated, unfair = and mostly untrue in my opinion. In your opening remarks you state you = have been working on many Seilers, Kawais, Mason & Hamilins and = Steinways. Why did you say that? You must want us to know you are an = elite technician working mostly for the musical elite.=20 I've been servicing and selling Chinese pianos for three years under = three diferent names and I can tell you they are getting better all the = time. I absolutely have not experienced the problems you list in your = post. No cracked soundboards. No bad pinblocks. The strings are not made of "bailing wire." Key bushings the same as Japanese pianos. Key punchings not made of "gray fuzz", geesh! Key pins as straight as any make. Pedal lyre and trap work as good as any. Brass hardward good as any. Stay in tune normally. Yes, more regulating is required but that's what I do and once regulated = they are okay.The finishes were a little messy three years ago but they = are better now. Dave, if even a fraction of what you said was true I would not be = involved with these pianos. I don't want any bad days like you were = crying about.=20 I was a Kawai dealer for 17 years. A few Kawais had problems also and I = actually had two replaced under warranty. I've had no bad Korean or = Chinese pianos and have had no unhappy customers that I know about. Dave, you were venting so I'll vent some more. I was around when Yamaha came here in 1967. We laughed at them but we = didn't laugh very long. They were better that US pianos from day one. = Then we complained about Korean pianos and most of them were also better = than US pianos. Now we are blasting the Chinese. Yamaha, Kawai, Young = Chang and Samick are flocking over to China and Indonesia. (Read PTG = Journal April 2003, page 20.) Their dealers often won't even disclose to = the buyer that some are made in China.=20 We all know that only a small percentage of people own high end pianos. = Most families do very well with Asian pianos. I service my pianos well = before delivery and after the sale. Schools, churches and families all = tell me they are pleased with their pianos.=20 Now if you find a bummer, don't blast the whole lot. By the way, Weber = is not made by Dongbei and the keys are not like "chewing gum." And = Dongbei pianos are good too IMHO. Some people resent China politics. As for their pianos, I'll gladly = service any and all. Fifty years ago we resented the politics of Japan = and Germany also.=20 Sy Zabrocki--RPT ----- Original Message -----=20 From: Piannaman@aol.com=20 To: pianotech@ptg.org=20 Sent: Thursday, January 29, 2004 9:10 AM Subject: Chinese Pianos.....arrrgh! List,=20 I've been negligent at perusing the contributions to this list of = late, mostly because I've been too busy working. While I've had the = opportunity to work on many Seilers, Kawais, M and Hs and Steinways, = some of this work has been on cheapo Chinese built pianos. The = no-name(who WOULD put a name on this thang?) upright unit I worked on = yesterday looked like a piano. It came apart like a piano. There the = similarity to a piano ends. I think I've seen an instrument like this = with a Niemeyer decal on the front.=20 It sounded miserably whiny, as though the strings were made of bailing = wire. The key bushings were sloppily installed, the punchings were made = out of this gray fuzz that is already disintegrating despite the fact = that it is a new piano. The keypins were installed at all kinds of = angles. Most of the keys were binding. The balance rail had swollen = causing the jacks to lift all of the hammers a couple of centimeters off = the rail. The let-off ranged from an inch in the bass to blocking = against the string in the middle of the piano. Bubble, bubble, toil and = trouble...PSO would be too kind a way to describe this piano. It made = me nostalgic for Pearl Rivers, which have become qite acceptable, = especially in comparison to this animal.=20 And if you ever work on a Dongbei piano--could be Story and Clark, = Weber, or any of a number of other decals--be careful when easing the = keys. The new Weber I serviced last week had keys that felt like = chewing gum when reamed.=20 Where's my flame thrower?=20 Dave Stahl=20 ---------------------- multipart/alternative attachment An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: https://www.moypiano.com/ptg/pianotech.php/attachments/00/ba/7f/e6/attachment.htm ---------------------- multipart/alternative attachment--
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