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<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";
color:navy'>Patrick,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";
color:navy'>I don’t think you will find a failure rate any higher or
lower with different brands under the same circumstances (quality, age, overall,
condition, environment). If the piano were moved to Tokyo to Sapporo
Japan, we would find the same issues. <u>It’s the weather</u>
(humidity and temperature) not the Market or Geography. Go to Google Maps
and zoom out to see the world and then research Hadley Cells in Wikipedia.
The answer: Dampp-Chaser curs a lot of ills. Sorry your customer did not
buy into the concept of saving their piano. Of course a poor or
misleading “Rebuild” is another issue too.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
color:black'>Kindest Regards,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
color:black'>Garret <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
color:black'>---<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'>From:</span></b><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'>
pianotech-bounces@ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces@ptg.org] <b>On Behalf Of </b>J
Patrick Draine<br>
<b>Sent:</b> Friday, September 12, 2008 8:18 AM<br>
<b>To:</b> Pianotech List<br>
<b>Subject:</b> Re: "Seasoned For Destination"<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
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<p class=MsoNormal>Bruce,<o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class=MsoNormal>If indeed your environment is "very kind" you may
not have much to worry about. <o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class=MsoNormal>What do I see in Billerica, MA, about 25 miles inland?
Soundboards that develop cracks during their first winter stateside. Very low
pin torque.<o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class=MsoNormal>One customer bought a Yamaha C5 that was rebuilt by one of
the import outfits, in TN or KY I think. Pin torque was monstrous in July just
after he bought it; bridges and soundboard developed cracks as soon as the heat
came on in the Fall, and pinblock torque took a sudden dive.<o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class=MsoNormal>These pianos were not outfitted with Dampp-Chaser systems,
despite my warnings to the proud new owners.<o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class=MsoNormal>Are some of the grey market pianos OK? Yes, but the failure
rate is unacceptably high.<o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:12.0pt'>Patrick Draine<o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class=MsoNormal>On Fri, Sep 12, 2008 at 5:07 AM, Bruce Browning - The Piano
Tuner <<a href="mailto:justpianos@our.net.au">justpianos@our.net.au</a>>
wrote:<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>David,<br>
With respect to the "grey market" pianos, people on this list keep
saying<br>
"coming apart", or "falling apart". Where are the
specifics, as in my 10 -<br>
12 years of servicing these in this country I have only seen minor<br>
problems which can easily be rectified, such as well worn key bushings,<br>
and the inevitable hammer butt loops (and aren't these problems common to<br>
locally supplied models as well?). Admittedly the environment I work in is<br>
very kind, but what should we be looking for? <o:p></o:p></p>
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