Chinese Pianos.....arrrgh!

[Piannaman@aol.com]

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Sy,

First off, I want to say that I did not say that Chinese pianos per se are 
junk. I was speaking of two specific pianos.  In my opinion, the two pianos I 
mentioned were BAD.  

I've seen some Chinese pianos that I like, in particular some of the more 
recent Pearl Rivers and some of the Sejeung products with Hobart Cable and other 
names on them.  And they are improving quickly.  

The no-name piano I worked on yesterday, though, was every bit as bad as I 
claimed:  poor quality materials, with the whole being less than the sum of its 
cheezy parts.  I did not exaggerate, nor did I claim that this was the norm in 
Chinese pianos: this one was the bottom of the heap.  

I may have been mistaken in thinking that the Weber was a Dongbei, but I was 
not mistaken in thinking that the keys were like chewing gum.

I think you hit on an important point.  All pianos need dealer prep.  The 
competitive market in the SF Bay Area keeps the prices low enough so that many of 
the dealers don't feel that they can afford to do the work that needs to be 
done, even on well-known brands.  These dealers are missing the boat.  I have 
this argument with one of the dealers I do work for on a fairly regular basis.  
He just wants to do the minimum, make the sale, get the piano out the door, 
and hope that the piano has no problems after delivery.  IMHO, and from things 
I've heard from other techs in the area, the reputation of the store suffers, 
as does the reputation of the products he sells.

Though they need more work than any of the other pianos he sells, the Chinese 
pianos will never get more than a floor tuning before they are delivered.  
They are only sold to cover a price point, not to be the best that they can be.  
I have no doubt that given a good going-over, they can be rendered usable 
instruments.

Disclaimer:  I am far from an elite technician, just an 
associate-soon-to-be-RPT-I-hope.

Dave Stahl


  In a message dated 1/29/04 9:18:09 PM Pacific Standard Time, 
only4zab@imt.net writes:


> 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. 
>  
> 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. 
>  
> 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. 
>  
> 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. 
>  
> 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.
> 



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