<HTML>List, I've been negligent at perusing the contributions to this list of late, = mostly because I've been too busy working.  While I've had the opportun= ity to work on many Seilers, Kawais, M and Hs and Steinways, some of this wo= rk has been on cheapo Chinese built pianos.  The no-name(who WOULD put = a name on this thang?) upright unit I worked on yesterday looked like a pian= o.  It came apart like a piano.  There the similarity to a piano e= nds.  I think I've seen an instrument like this with a Niemeyer decal o= n the front. It sounded miserably whiny, as though the strings were made of bailing w= ire.  The key bushings were sloppily installed, the punchings were made= out of this gray fuzz that is already disintegrating despite the fact that = it is a new piano.  The keypins were installed at all kinds of angles. =  Most of the keys were binding.  The balance rail had swollen caus= ing the jacks to lift all of the hammers a couple of centimeters off the rai= l. The let-off ranged from an inch in the bass to blocking against the strin= g in the middle of the piano.  Bubble, bubble, toil and trouble...PSO w= ould be too kind a way to describe this piano.  It made me nostalgic fo= r Pearl Rivers, which have become qite acceptable, especially in comparison = to this animal. And if you ever work on a Dongbei piano--could be Story and Clark, Weber= , or any of a number of other decals--be careful when easing the keys. &nbsp= ;The new Weber I serviced last week had keys that felt like chewing gum when= reamed. Where's my flame thrower? Dave Stahl </HTML>