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<DIV>Years ago a wholesaler in Tacoma imported “rebuilt” pianos from
Japan. The story I got was they were restrung, buffed and regulated during
the trip across the pond (Pacific Ocean) and then packed in cargo containers and
sold by the container to wholesalers. The wholesalers then sold them to
local dealers. I went to his warehouse and inspected a few pianos for a
potential buyer. One had a flat soundboard (no tone) and another had no
keytops and pretty much none of them had three pedals. He was expecting
another container but couldn’t tell me when it would arrive. He also told
a similar story as Wim where in Japan the buying public prefers to buy new in
place of used. The muggy summers and the proximity to the salty atmosphere
over there promotes rust and failure. Additionally, and typically, at the
time (15 years ago), Japan didn’t have technicians that dealt with extensive
piano work. Common sized grands were the standard and most were Yo
Momma’s.</DIV>
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<DIV>The owner of the business died and an employee handled things for awhile
and then I haven’t heard of the place since. About the same time, I
noticed the two pedal grands on sales floors diminished. </DIV>
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