<!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 6.00.2800.1400" name=GENERATOR> <STYLE></STYLE> </HEAD> <BODY bgColor=#d8d0c8> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>I would say just about the opposite is = true - the highest performance models are often the most heavy-duty (talkin' pianos = here).</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Terry Farrell</FONT></DIV> <BLOCKQUOTE dir=ltr style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; = BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px"> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV> <DIV style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: = black"><B>From:</B> <A title=741662027@theshusters.org = href="mailto:741662027@theshusters.org">Cy Shuster</A> </DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A = title=pianotech@ptg.org href="mailto:pianotech@ptg.org">Pianotech</A> </DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Thursday, December 16, = 2004 7:04 PM</DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Pianos for heavy = use?</DIV> <DIV><BR></DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2>Many products such as power tools have both "home" = versions as well as "commercial" versions, intended for heavy-duty use.  = In fact, the "home" versions often have a warranty clause that excludes damage = from severe use.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2>Do piano manufacturers explicitly market = "heavy-duty" models?  Or does that just fall out from the low-end vs. high-end = models?  I know some studios are advertised as "institutional", = with toe blocks on uprights and so on, but I wondered if anyone explicitly = addresses the challenges of pianos that are played, say, six hours a = day.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2>Thinking about the analogy to cars (like Terry = often does), the highest performance models are often the most temperamental and = fragile, requiring a lot of maintenance relative to others.  I suppose any = concert piano takes a lot of work, since the pianist requires so much of the instrument.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2>Just idle thoughts...</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2>--Cy Shuster--</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2>Bluefield, WV</FONT></DIV> <DIV> </DIV></BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>