<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN"> <HTML><HEAD> <META http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; = charset=iso-8859-1"> <META content="MSHTML 5.50.4134.600" name=GENERATOR> <STYLE></STYLE> </HEAD> <BODY bgColor=#ffffff> <DIV>----- Original Message ----- </DIV> <BLOCKQUOTE style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; = BORDER-LEFT: #000080 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px"> <DIV style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: = black"><B>From:</B> <A title=Wimblees@AOL.COM = href="mailto:Wimblees@AOL.COM">Wimblees@AOL.COM</A> </DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A = title=pianotech@ptg.org href="mailto:pianotech@ptg.org">pianotech@ptg.org</A> </DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> September 10, 2001 2:14 = PM</DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Re: Killer Octave - = Warranty Issue?<FONT face=arial,helvetica><FONT size=2></DIV></BLOCKQUOTE> <BLOCKQUOTE style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; = BORDER-LEFT: #000080 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px"> <DIV>....In design, even "cheap" pianos are engineered to have proper = down <BR>bearing, bridges etc. The problem between the cheap and the = expensive ones <BR>are that in the manufacturing process, </DIV></BLOCKQUOTE> <DIV><FONT face="Lucida Sans" color=#000080 size=3>Fundamentally = this is true. More specifically, it lies in the amount of money spent on production = machinery to remove hand labor.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face="Lucida Sans" color=#000080 = size=3></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face="Lucida Sans" color=#000080 = size=3></FONT> </DIV> <BLOCKQUOTE style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; = BORDER-LEFT: #000080 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px"> <DIV>if a problem is discovered with the <BR>expensive one, it is sent = back through, while with the cheap ones, there <BR>isn't the time, nor the = money, to do it over again. So the piano is sent out <BR>as is. But that is = why it is a "cheap" piano. </DIV></BLOCKQUOTE> <DIV><FONT face="Lucida Sans" color=#000080 size=3>I've not really = seen this happening, and have commented on it in another post. If interested the = reader can refer to that post.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face="Lucida Sans" color=#000080 = size=3></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face="Lucida Sans" color=#000080 = size=3></FONT> </DIV> <BLOCKQUOTE style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; = BORDER-LEFT: #000080 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px"> <DIV>When the piano gets to the dealer, we have the same problem. When = a dealer <BR>can make $10,000 on a piano, he/she is more willing to pay = a technician a <BR>couple of hundred dollars to correct any problems. </DIV></BLOCKQUOTE> <DIV><FONT face="Lucida Sans" color=#000080 size=3>I have not = really found this to be the case. </FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face="Lucida Sans" color=#000080 = size=3></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face="Lucida Sans" color=#000080 = size=3></FONT> </DIV> <BLOCKQUOTE style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; = BORDER-LEFT: #000080 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px"> <DIV>Or if the problem is <BR>serious, it will get sent back. (In this = case, the manufacturer realizes <BR>there is a reputation at stake, and is = willing to absorb a certain amount of <BR>loss to redo the instrument.) </DIV></BLOCKQUOTE> <DIV><FONT face="Lucida Sans" color=#000080 size=3>Nor have I = found this to be the case. </FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face="Lucida Sans" color=#000080 = size=3></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face="Lucida Sans" color=#000080 size=3>My observation = has been that the dealer will either make the problem right--or see that the problem = is made right--or not. It depends more on the personal integrity of the dealer = than the price of the piano sold. Talk to Roger.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face="Lucida Sans" color=#000080 = size=3></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face="Lucida Sans" color=#000080 = size=3></FONT> </DIV> <BLOCKQUOTE style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; = BORDER-LEFT: #000080 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px"> <DIV>But when the profit margin gets reduced down to <BR>$2 - 3000, = even if the work needs to be done, there isn't the money <BR>available. (And = by the same token, the manufacturer is very reluctant to take <BR>the piano = back.) Again, that is why it is a "cheap" piano. </DIV></BLOCKQUOTE> <DIV><FONT face="Lucida Sans" color=#000080 size=3>One would = certainly think this would be consistently true, but it often seems that the = manufacturer of the low-cost piano is more concerned with backing up its products than are = the manufacturers of more expensive pianos. Perhaps this is because the = low-end manufacturer might be more willing to accept that their pianos may, = indeed, have problems.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face="Lucida Sans" color=#000080 = size=3></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face="Lucida Sans" color=#000080 = size=3></FONT> </DIV> <BLOCKQUOTE style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; = BORDER-LEFT: #000080 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px"><FONT face="Lucida Sans" color=#000080 size=3></FONT> <DIV>And when customers buy this, they either know there is a problem, = or they <BR>don't. If they don't, then they get, as Clyde put it, "what they = pay for." <BR>For a technician to point out the problem, unless you bought the = piano from <BR>Roger, or someone with his ethics and reputation, the = customer is probably <BR>going to have to accept what they paid for, even if we = point out the problem. <BR>What will most likely happen, as Ron pointed out, is = that the dealer, or the <BR>manufacturer, will send out another technician, who = is more "friendly," and <BR>point out to the customer that there is nothing = "wrong" with the piano. Then <BR>the original tuner looses a customer, and he = has made the dealer mad. </DIV></BLOCKQUOTE> <DIV><FONT face="Lucida Sans"><FONT color=#000080 size=3>I have = been rethinking this whole issue of late. Just what should the buyer of a low-cost piano = expect? Relative to the buyer of a much more expensive piano, that = is. </FONT></FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face="Lucida Sans" color=#000080 = size=3></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face="Lucida Sans" color=#000080 size=3>It should be = possible to mass-produce pianos giving excellent performance. Good piano design, = hence good piano performance, is not--at least is not inherently--expensive. = Rims and soundboards can now be made efficiently by machine, why shouldn't they = be made in such a way that they perform well.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face="Lucida Sans" color=#000080 = size=3></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face="Lucida Sans" color=#000080 size=3>Increasingly I = am becoming convinced that what you get with an expensive piano is exclusivity, = excellence in marketing (and all that that brings with it, some good and some bad) = and, at least potentially, somewhat better materials. None of which necessarily translate into improved tone performance. The potential performance = gains afforded by better materials can probably be designed around, given some = effort.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face="Lucida Sans" color=#000080 = size=3></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face="Lucida Sans" color=#000080 size=3>As I've said in = other posts, we--the collective we; technicians, dealers, consumers, all of us--have = not been demanding much in the way of piano performance over the past few years. = We've been demanding perfect polyester finishes, perfectly fitting hardware = and casework, perfect coils on perfect pins, perfect bridge notching, = perfect soundboard wood, perfectly shaped hammers, perfect tunability--yes, = especially perfect tunability--perfect everything except truly musical instruments. = </FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face="Lucida Sans" color=#000080 = size=3></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face="Lucida Sans" color=#000080 size=3>It is my = opinion that, finally, the marketplace is speaking. As the piano has become = nothing more than a perfect piece of furniture they are going off to buy something = else. Perhaps it's time to bring back the music.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face="Lucida Sans" color=#000080 = size=3></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face="Lucida Sans" color=#000080 = size=3>Regards,</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face="Lucida Sans" color=#000080 = size=3></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face="Lucida Sans" color=#000080 = size=3>Del</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face="Lucida Sans" color=#000080 size=3>Delwin D = Fandrich<BR>Piano Designer & Builder<BR>Hoquiam, Washington  USA<BR>E.mail:  = <A href="mailto:pianobuilders@olynet.com">pianobuilders@olynet.com</A><BR>= Web Site:  <A href="http://www.pianobuilders.com">www.pianobuilders.com</A></FONT>&nb= sp;</DIV></FONT></FONT></BODY></HTML>