<HTML><HEAD> <META charset=UTF-8 http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charse= t=utf-8"> <META content="MSHTML 6.00.2600.0" name=GENERATOR></HEAD> <BODY style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; BACKGROUND-COLOR: #fffff= f"> <DIV>What I am about to say is really aimed at the customer so don't assume = that I am talking down to the list:</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>I tell customers who are considering a Chinese piano that they are much= better than the inexpensive pianos of yesteryear.  Meaning that they h= ave better scaling, better execution and more reliable consistency of m= anufacturing than the Winter spinets, Rudolph Wurlitzers, or Cable pianos of= the past and at least the cabinets are very unobtrusive in design and don't= have ugly grill cloth, yellow oak, photo finishes or plates that look like = something salvaged from a WWII scrap yard.  What I do say is that the m= ain difference between pianos of this quality is not really the mechanical o= r structural integrity (laminate materials are very stable) but th= e acoustically favorable materials and design.  Higher quality pianos w= ill just last longer under stressful institutional use and sound better in t= he process. When speaking to the customer I try to explain that when yo= u are paying triple the price for a piano what you are getting is sound.&nbs= p; I have no problem with the dealers selling this lower quality of pia= nos to people who can't afford more, I just have a problem with the quality = being portrayed to the customer as something they are not. Most of the time = the sales people are so uninformed that they march the customer over to the = cheapest piano on the floor and start touting the virtues of the quality bec= ause they are so afraid of losing the sale to another Chinese pianos at a co= mpetitive dealer.  They forget that many people can afford something be= tter and with very little real education can hear the difference.  How = many times have we walked into a $500,000 home and seen a piano that cost le= ss then the kitchen stove or refrigerator.  If these people will marble= their shower stall, spend $40,000 on landscaping, $75,000 for the Land Rove= r or Hummer or fly first class to Europe for a vacation they can afford the = best piano on the market. It is partly up to us, the technician, to help edu= cate in this regard.  How many potential life long piano students = lose interest because their inexpensive piano just doesn't have the pretty t= one, long decay, and singing quality of a beautiful handmade piano. Ask any = real professional why they insist on a minimum level of quality.  It's = not the name on the fallboard, it's the quality of the sound they are gettin= g. </DIV> <DIV>Just my opinion. TP</DIV></BODY></HTML>