This has been an issue for the industry since the early 90s. A number of manufacturers have farmed out production to the Chinese, with the accompanying issues one would expect.
Some Chinese startup companies have come in and been making substandard instruments as well, or making what is known in the industry as "stencils", which is another name for brand labeling. Older pianos can be fine, it's just that there are a lot of them out there that are past the point of being good instruments without spending far more that they are worth to get them in shape. Dan On Sep 5, 2012, at 4:54 PM, Randy Bennell <rbenn...@bennell.ca> wrote: > > We spent more money on a piano than it is worth a number of years back. > It is an old upright grand piano made in Toronto in something like 1926. > We had all of the wound strings replaced. > > The fellow who did it for us is a little fellow from Sri Lanka. > > I have talked to him recently and he is suffering from the same problem as > many other businesses. > People can buy a new junk piano for less than it costs to buy and maintain an > older decent piano so they get the new one. > The parts inside are plastic but the finish is nice. > > So my Sri Lankan fellow is struggling to make a living. > > I know a fellow who has a sewing machine repair shop. Same sort of thing. > People won't pay what it costs to have a decent older machine cleaned and > serviced because they can buy a new plastic one at Wal-Mart for very little > money. Singer will sell them to Wal-Mart for less than the small dealers so > he cannot compete with Wal-Mart. > > Randy > > On 05/09/2012 3:32 PM, Greg Fiorentino wrote: >> Your statements do not conform to my experience. My mom gave us a circa >> 1950s Baldwin (I think it is called a console). Our kids were getting >> lessons for a while. We called in a technician to tune it and he found the >> sounding board to be cracked (many small cracks or surface "checking"). He >> injected hot epoxy into the cracks and made it better than new for maybe >> $300 IIRC. I am not aware of anything major other than the sounding board >> that can go wrong with a quality piano. >> >> YMMV >> >> Greg >> >> -----Original Message----- >> From: mercedes-boun...@okiebenz.com [mailto:mercedes-boun...@okiebenz.com] >> On Behalf Of Dan Penoff >> Sent: Wednesday, September 05, 2012 12:16 PM >> To: Mercedes Discussion List >> Subject: Re: [MBZ] OT - Digital Pianos >> >> I have immersed myself in the piano technician community over the last few >> months, and what I have found is rather interesting: >> >> 1.) An old piano is just that - old and tired, and they do wear out over >> time >> >> 2.) Any piano that is more that 15-20 years old, even if it has been well >> maintained, will require a fair amount of work for it to perform properly. >> >> 3.) There are a very few brands that are worth rebuilding, and even then the >> cost to do so is difficult to justify relative to the value of the >> instrument. >> >> 4.) Pianos depreciate like cars - rapidly at first, leveling off after >> 5-10 years of age. Few, if any, will ever appreciate. >> >> 5.) The choice of a piano is purely one of personal preference and taste. >> What appeals to one may not to another. >> >> 6.) Price is a relative thing. There are cheap pianos, then there are >> expensive "cheap" pianos. >> >> 7.) As with buying any used MB, employ a qualified piano tech to perform a >> PPI before buying a piano. It's money we'll spent. >> >> Amazing how many parallels there are relative to our MBs. >> >> As for digital keyboards, newer is always better, and yes, like any >> electronic instrument, they depreciate rapidly as technology advances. >> >> Dan >> >> On Sep 5, 2012, at 2:52 PM, Randy Bennell <rbenn...@bennell.ca> wrote: >> >>> Let me suggest another issue. >>> >>> I am told that good quality accoustic pianos tend to hold their value very >> well or maybe even appreciate in value. >>> Electronic pianos are like computers. Newer better stuff keeps coming >> along and the old stuff is junked. >>> So, if you really want an electronic one, let me suggest that you look for >> a used one that is no longer state of the art. >>> If you want to invest in a good piano then buy a traditional one. >>> >>> My church (or at least it used to be my church - I am unhappy with the >> current clergy and am waiting for them to move on before I go back on a >> regular basis ) went through this process a few years back and had several >> in to try them out. The music people liked the fancy electronic one for the >> capabilities it had but elected to buy a nice ebony grand - Balwin I >> believe. It has a built in humidifier. >>> There is a light that flashes when it needs to be refilled with water. >>> >>> Randy who is not a piano player but wishes he had some musical talent >>> >>> >>> On 05/09/2012 1:38 PM, Scott Ritchey wrote: >>>> We replaced the piano in out church and ended up with a Yamaha >>>> Clavinova for half the price of an acoustic piano. The Clavinova's >>>> key action (and sound) are very like a good acoustic piano IMO. But >>>> the thing that really sold us on the digital piano was maintenance. >>>> Our church isn't climate-controlled most of the time (60-80 degree >>>> range) and that was hard on the acoustic pianos. >>>> >>>> -----Original Message----- >>>> From: mercedes-boun...@okiebenz.com >>>> [mailto:mercedes-boun...@okiebenz.com] >>>> On Behalf Of Dan Penoff >>>> Sent: Monday, September 03, 2012 5:27 PM >>>> To: Mercedes List >>>> Subject: [MBZ] OT - Digital Pianos >>>> >>>> I am finally going to check off a bucket list item and start taking >>>> piano lessons, something I have wanted since I was a young boy. >>>> >>>> While I could purchase an acoustic piano at this point, I would >>>> rather invest in a decent digital piano that has good action first. >>>> Once I start to become proficient and am sure I want to continue on, >>>> I'll be better suited to find a good acoustic piano that I would >>>> expect to spend a fair amount on and keep for some time. >>>> >>>> I see a lot of Yamaha DPs on CL in the $300-$700 range, but it's >>>> almost like trying to buy a DVD player - they all do the same thing, >>>> but what makes one better than the others? >>>> >>>> I want something that will provide action similar to an acoustic >>>> piano, and >>>> 88 keys. As for all the MIDI and synth stuff, I don't care. >>>> >>>> Anyone on the list a keyboard player who might want to weigh in on this? >>>> >>>> Thanks, >>>> >>>> Dan >>>> >>> >>> _______________________________________ >>> > > > _______________________________________ > http://www.okiebenz.com > For new and used parts go to www.okiebenz.com > To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ > > To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: > http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com _______________________________________ http://www.okiebenz.com For new and used parts go to www.okiebenz.com To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com
