[pianotech] American vs Asian pianos, was Re: re; spinet repetitionproblems

[Joseph Garrett]

Wim,
That has not been my experience. Every Asian POS that i've worked on has a built in "can of worms" set of problems.....fix one thing and it creates another. If I were new at this biz, I'd have to assume it was me, but I'm not. The "select hardwoods" used in most of the asian pianos is and has been suspect in my shop setup/mindset. It's just me, I suspect. But? Maybe not.. The proof will be in how long they last. 
The American Spinet is still here after 80 or so years. I don't think the Asian counterparts will last that long. Then again, I could be wrong about that too.<G>
You are in the heart of the Asian market, so to speak. Also, you have a unique set of problems, unlike the "lower 48".or I suspect in Hawaii they say "the other 49".<G> 
I will admit that the past 5-6 years of chinese pianos is a definate improvement over what came before. They are, finally, learning how to build pianos. But, it's my opinion that they aren't there yet. There are many spinets that NEVER were worth a darn, IMO. So,  back to the spinet issue: perhaps we should get on a big push to either FIX the good ones and Land Fill the rest, or just refuse to work on them altogether, forcing all spinet owners to Upgrade.<G>
Best,
Joe


----- Original Message ----- 
From: 
To: joegarrett at earthlink.net;pianotech at ptg.org
Sent: 1/7/2012 10:46:55 AM 
Subject: American vs Asian pianos, was Re: [pianotech] re; spinet repetitionproblems


Joe said

A large percentage of the existing spinets were
made out of REAL wood and nice aesthetic designed cases. They are far
superior to the POS's coming out of China, Indonesia, etc!! (BTW I HATE
shiny black!!! buullaaaccckkk!<G>) 
Joe

>From my experience, pianos coming out of China and Indonesia for the past 5  - 10 are much better instruments than the spinets manufactured by the American piano companies in the 60's and 70's. Yes, they were made out of "real" wood, but mechanically, and even structurally, the Asian pianos are much better. As far as the finish, (whether it's buullaaaccckkk, or another wood color,) that's a matter of personal taste. Apparently consumers like the shiny look, otherwise they wouldn't be making them. 

Wim





-----Original Message-----
From: Joseph Garrett <joegarrett at earthlink.net>
To: pianotech <pianotech at ptg.org>
Sent: Sat, Jan 7, 2012 8:03 am
Subject: [pianotech] re; spinet repetition problems


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Dean said: "If Jiffy Leads are fully functional, do not take away the
aesthetic look of
the outside cabinet the customer sees, last just as long, AND SAVES THE
CUSTOMER MONEY, why would they not be considered "doing the job right?"
 
 
I'm sorry to sound snippy, but I grow weary of the mindset that it has to be
like the factory in order to qualify as doing it right. In my book, if it
works well and saves the customer money, that is doing it right, and that is
how I want other people to treat me. "
 
Dean,
I'd like to agree with you but the essence of "jiffy leads" is that you
just screw them puppies on the ends of the keys and voila'! you have really
faster, better piano.....NOT! First the jiffies are too heavy!! Secondly,
each key's balance weight is different. This is due to various widths, wood
densities, sharps vs naturals, etc.The method I use is a balance system and
a gram scale. I've found that a back weight of 1-3 grams will make the key
settle on it's back rail and not increase the "touch" a noticeable amount.
The end results is: you take the key out of the action rep. picture, so to
speak and leave the repetition to the ACTION itself.<G> If the action is
still "sluggish", then your next step is to repin. I think there was little
quality control of the S-2 parts that most spinets have. All parts pinning
should be suspect imo. 
Although, I too, like to be given the least expensive route to repairing a
piece of my equipment, I've found that it is not always the long term best
route.<G> Mostly I've found: "Cheap is just Cheap, it's not always the
best"! One other thing: A large percentage of the existing spinets were
made out of REAL wood and nice aesthetic designed cases. They are far
superior to the POS's coming out of China, Indonesia, etc!! (BTW I HATE
shiny black!!! buullaaaccckkk!<G>) So, what is the alternative to the NEW
pianos? Fix the Spinets to work the way they were originally designed to,
not how they came off the assembly line! It will be cheaper for the client
in the long run and the client will not regret that route, imho. There are
some spinets that should have NEVER been manufactured. Those should go into
the nearest land fill, imo....er Winter comes to mind<G>.
Joe


Joe Garrett, R.P.T.
Captain of the Tool Police
Squares R I
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