<font color='navy' size='2' face='Comic Sans MS, sans-serif'><pre style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 9pt; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS', sans-serif; "><br> </pre><pre style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 9pt; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS', sans-serif; "><tt> <div style="font-family: arial, helvetica; font-size: 13.333333015441895px; white-space: normal; ">No, small specialty shops do this kind of work. I think a large part of the reason S&S is able to get away with their marketing material is that the availability of very high performance pianos from the small shops is a relatively new phenomena - yes? </div> <div style="font-family: arial, helvetica; font-size: 13.333333015441895px; white-space: normal; "><br> </div> <div style="font-family: arial, helvetica; font-size: 13.333333015441895px; white-space: normal; ">Terry Farrell</div> <div><br> </div> </tt></pre><pre><tt><font face="Comic Sans MS, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: 9pt;">Yes, I agree Terry. I think the number of folks doing exemplary work may be a few dozen but </span></font></tt></pre><pre><tt><font face="Comic Sans MS, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: 9pt;"> it also may be in the hundreds as Wim </span><span style="font-size: 12px;">alluded</span><span style="font-size: 9pt;"> too  </span></font></tt><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS', sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; ">but the number grows every year.  </span></pre><pre><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS', sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; "> I meet motivated guys and gals every year that are steppin up they're game and the ld guys improving theres all the time. INformation is power and the electronic village and organizations like the guild have spread information at amazing rates.</span></pre><pre style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 9pt; "><tt><font face="Comic Sans MS, sans-serif"><br> </font></tt></pre><br> <div style="color: navy; font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS', sans-serif; clear: both; "><font size="1" color="royalblue"><b><font face="Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, Serif"><font color="black"><font color="mediumblue" face="Comic Sans MS, sans-serif">Dale Erwin R.P.T.<br> <font color="green">Erwin's Piano Restoration Inc.</font><br> </font></font></font></b></font><font color="darkgreen"><span style="font-style: italic;"><b><font size="1"><font size="1" color="black"><font color="blueviolet"><font color="black"> <font color="black" face="Comic Sans MS, sans-serif">Mason & Hamlin</font><font face="Comic Sans MS, sans-serif">/Steinway/</font><font color="black" face="Comic Sans MS, sans-serif">U.S. pianos</font><font face="Comic Sans MS, sans-serif"><br> </font></font></font></font><font size="1" color="cornflowerblue" face="Comic Sans MS, sans-serif">www.Erwinspiano.com</font><font size="1"><br> </font><font size="1" color="crimson" face="Comic Sans MS, sans-serif">Phone: 209-577-8397</font><br> <font color="darkgreen"></font></font></b></span></font><tt><tt><font color="darkgreen"><br>  </font><br>   <font size="2"></font></tt></tt><br> <br> </div> <br> <br> <div style="color: black; font-size: 10pt; font-family: arial, helvetica; ">-----Original Message-----<br> From: Terry Farrell <mfarrel2@tampabay.rr.com><br> To: pianotech <pianotech@ptg.org><br> Sent: Fri, Oct 19, 2012 6:03 pm<br> Subject: Re: [pianotech] who pays?<br> <br> <div id="AOLMsgPart_1_096f391f-bcdd-4a50-beab-a1bece05d96e"> <div>Dale - you bring up two concepts: small shops and cars.</div> <div><br> </div> <div>When Mario Andretti (or whomever races cars now-a-days) needs a new race car, where does he go? The Chevy dealer (auto factory) to buy a Corvette? I don't think so. Maybe he goes to a Ferrari dealer to buy a Ferrari. Hmmm, nope not there either. He goes to a small specialty shop where race cars are designed from the ground up and hand built for the desired performance goals.</div> <div><br> </div> <div>The only difference between pianos and cars is that the piano hasn't changed significantly in 120 years - so why start from scratch, when a great cost savings can be had by starting with a worn out shell of a piano (with arguably only minor compromises made by the old shell design).</div> <div><br> </div> <div>So why do professional pianists go to a piano dealer to buy a factory-built piano? Do violinists go to the Guarneri Violin Company or the Stradivarius & Sons Piano Company? Do they buy rebuilt violins from the Guarneri Violin Company? No, small specialty shops do this kind of work. I think a large part of the reason S&S is able to get away with their marketing material is that the availability of very high performance pianos from the small shops is a relatively new phenomena - yes?</div> <div><br> </div> <div>Terry Farrell</div> <div><br> </div> <br> <div> <div>On Oct 19, 2012, at 12:54 PM, Dale Erwin wrote:</div> <br> <blockquote type="cite"><font color="navy" size="2" face="Comic Sans MS, sans-serif"> <div> <div id="AOLMsgPart_1_447e5a16-8055-47a5-8a17-1d60f084b3f9"> <div class="WordSection1"> <div class="MsoNormal"><font face="arial, helvetica" size="2"> Question; If the factory rebuild carries the same quality and </font><font face="arial, helvetica">warranty</font><font face="arial, helvetica" size="2"> as new, why should anyone ever buy a new piano? (<font color="#0000cd">They aren't. In this economy, there buying used and rebuilt.)</font>Aren't they kind of shooting themselves in the foot here?----Greg</font></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; font-family: arial, helvetica; font-size: 10pt; "><br> </div> <div class="MsoNormal"><font color="#0000cd"><font face="arial, helvetica" size="2"> Yes, they shoots themselves and certainly without our help</font></font></div> <div class="MsoNormal"><font color="#0000cd"><font face="arial, helvetica" size="2">  Dennis E., Ron N and I looked at an A-2 in Rochester 2005 that had been </font><font face="arial, helvetica">just</font><font face="arial, helvetica" size="2"> restored in the Stwy Restoration center and was on display there. We ran a crown string across the bottom and no residual crown. We discovered it had a freshly oil canned Genuine Steinway built soundboard and it sounded very unmusical. It had all genuine Steinway parts. Enough said.</font></font></div> <div class="MsoNormal"><font color="#0000cd"><font face="arial, helvetica" size="2">  I guess I'm ticked because the marketing is personally insulting to me and many, many of you. </font></font></div> <div class="MsoNormal"><font color="#0000cd"><font face="arial, helvetica" size="2">  </font></font></div> <div class="MsoNormal"><font color="#0000cd"><font face="arial, helvetica" size="2">Just imagine the good will they could engender by spinning it differently, by saying there are quite a few small shops around the country doing a very admirable job of rebuilding our pianos ( and Large. ie. Ac pianocraft, Faust Harrison, Pianocraft (Keith Kerman) in Maryland). How about encouraging techs to use their parts instead of being so pedantic, heavy handed and isolationist.</font></font></div> <div class="MsoNormal"><font color="#0000cd"><font face="arial, helvetica" size="2"> </font></font></div> <div class="MsoNormal"><font color="#0000cd"><font face="arial, helvetica" size="2"> Look at race cars. All the american autos;... Ford,GM, Chrysler are raced highly modified and covered with endorsement logos.  I have never ever heard one of those manufacturers say if it doesn't have 5 thousand Ford parts it not a Ford. </font></font><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica; font-size: small; color: rgb(0, 0, 205); ">Heck they're happy for the exposure. </span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica; font-size: small; color: rgb(0, 0, 205); ">   So the truth is, that if someone buys a product from anyone, it belongs to them.....and if they wish to rebuild, modify,codify, </span><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica; font-size: small; color: rgb(0, 0, 205); ">or hot</span><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica; font-size: small; color: rgb(0, 0, 205); "> rod it to higher</span><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica; font-size: small; color: rgb(0, 0, 205); "> levels of performance, </span><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica; font-size: small; color: rgb(0, 0, 205); ">doesn't that speak well of the basic version, the basic platform, that it has </span><u style="font-family: arial, helvetica; font-size: small; color: rgb(0, 0, 205); ">that </u><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica; font-size: small; color: rgb(0, 0, 205); ">kind of potential. </span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"><font color="#0000cd" face="arial, helvetica" size="2">I'm just saying</font></div> <div class="MsoNormal"><font color="#0000cd"><font face="arial, helvetica" size="2"><br> </font></font></div> <div class="MsoNormal"><font face="arial, helvetica" size="2" color="#0000cd">Dale</font></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; font-family: arial, helvetica; font-size: 10pt; "> </div> </div> </div> </div> </font></blockquote></div> </div>  </div> </font>