<HTML><HEAD></HEAD> <BODY dir=ltr> <DIV dir=ltr> <DIV style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial'; COLOR: #000000; FONT-SIZE: 10pt"> <DIV>Larry’s perspective is in line with my experience of many years ago. I was asked to inspect about 10 Yamaha “rebuilt” grands that had just arrived from Japan via the Tacoma Washington seaport. The cabinet finishes were excellent, but the soundboard crowns and bridges varied greatly. Use caution when purchasing these imports.</DIV> <DIV>Roger</DIV> <DIV style="FONT-STYLE: normal; DISPLAY: inline; FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri'; COLOR: #000000; FONT-SIZE: small; FONT-WEIGHT: normal; TEXT-DECORATION: none"> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt tahoma"> <DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV> <DIV style="BACKGROUND: #f5f5f5"> <DIV style="font-color: black"><B>From:</B> <A title=larry_fisher@pdxtuner.com href="mailto:larry_fisher@pdxtuner.com">Larry Fisher RPT</A> </DIV> <DIV><B>Sent:</B> Tuesday, January 22, 2013 7:44 AM</DIV> <DIV><B>To:</B> <A title=pianotech@ptg.org href="mailto:pianotech@ptg.org">pianotech@ptg.org</A> </DIV> <DIV><B>Subject:</B> [pianotech] DOREMI pianos</DIV></DIV></DIV> <DIV> </DIV></DIV> <DIV style="FONT-STYLE: normal; DISPLAY: inline; FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri'; COLOR: #000000; FONT-SIZE: small; FONT-WEIGHT: normal; TEXT-DECORATION: none"> <DIV dir=ltr> <DIV style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri'; COLOR: #000000; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"> <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> <DIV> </DIV> <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> <DIV> </DIV></DIV></DIV></DIV></DIV></DIV></BODY></HTML>