<HTML>In a message dated 2/21/03 10:46:52 PM !!!First Boot!!= !, jrpiano@win.eastlink.ca writes: <BLOCKQUOTE TYPE=CITE style="BORDER-LEFT: #0000ff 2px solid; MARGIN-LEFT= : 5px; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px">Thank you Wim. I can't see not keeping strings as a problem. Case parts, maybe. I was forgetting, you are in a school situation, where vandalism, may be a problem. Over the years, nothing comes to mind, as having to replace a case part, on a customers piano. Regards, John M. Ross </BLOCKQUOTE> The case parts were not for school. This happened about 15 years ago, when I= bought studio that fell off a truck. I ordered several case parts from Yama= ha, which not only took 6 months to arrive, but cost at least 5 times more t= han comparable parts from American piano companies. The reason they cost so = much, and it took so long, is because even though the piano was only 3 years= old, they had changed the models, and didn't have that model in production = any more. They had to pull the specs out of archives, and special make the p= arts. The same thing happened on a set of bass string, on a piano that only 6 mont= hs old. Again, they changed the scale, and had to special order the strings.= I've heard this scenario numerous times over the years. That is why II said,= It's one thing to make some improvements to the piano, but another to compl= etely change the design and scaling, so many times that replacements parts a= re not available any more. Wim</HTML>