<!doctype html public "-//w3c//dtd html 4.0 transitional//en"> <html> Hi Patrick.. Nice Post.. well thought out and a bit more balance then some of these raving lunatic responses predicting god knows what horrible consequences if the PTG even thinks about sticking its nose out even far enough to seriously look into what could be done... Grin... Having said that...hehe... I hadnt really imagined a Piano Police... tho I understand how some would overreact seriously in that direction. Just some form of solid pressure on the absolute bottom of the industry. That part which almost all of us can aggree upon shouldnt be produced, is fraudulant.. etc. There are these kinds of pianos produced and everyone knows it. This post started as a query as to what to do, from a tech in a situation where he was insecure as to how to handle a new piano with obvioius deficiancies. Really gentlemen... the situation should not really come up. And it wouldnt if we could all stop arguring about why it nothing can be done, and instead start looking for what can be done. Being human beings.... we most certainly can find some positive form of influence above and beyond what we do now to exert on the market. Further... lawsuits smallshuites.... let em try stopping anyone from expression of their opinions. A well thought out testing proceedure which sticks to verifiable facts as to functionality can be nothing for the PTG to fear. ... tho no doubt there are those who would like us to believe it is. Richard Brekne I.C.P.T.G.  N.P.T.F. Bergen, Norway J Patrick Draine wrote: <blockquote TYPE=CITE>While it's nice that some list members are ambitious enough to imagine PTG becoming The Piano Police, I think one practical response to the general situation is to give Larry Fine and Steve Brady, who are working together on the 4th edition of The Piano Book, plenty of feedback. I recall that at Kansas City they were looking for survey participants regarding brand new pianos. I'm sure either of them would enjoy hearing directly from you about specific and general observations of the quality of new and used pianos, and that your input would make the book even more useful to the general public. Regarding the "Underwriter lab" concept: I recall that shortly after Larry Fines first edition he received communications from the legal departments of several manufacturers who threatened legal action if he continued to publish his (and his survey participants') candid opinions of certain pianos. I believe the result was that his 2nd edition had an insert advising readers that certain brands (Samick & Baldwin?) weren't reviewed due to those legal threats. I think the manufacturers eventually realized that that was more damning in the consumers' eye than finding that *certain* models are less desirable. Larry was pretty unhappy with those legal threats, and generally speaking PTG Boards and Executive Directors are even more averse to legal suits than highly motivated individuals Patrick Draine.</blockquote> </html>