

Hacking low-cost Chinese pianos into something special - rms
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2008563635_piano27m.html

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ramchip
_Ninety-five percent of pianos are sold to people who don't play_

Sad but very believable, and I find it interesting to hear from a piano maker.
I've seen several (fairly rich) people buy a piano to learn it but then drop
out after a month, or outright buy it just for the chic aspect. I can't help
but feel a little tinge when I see a beautiful grand sitting unused in a
living room, when the kids at school have to do with a decaying, out of tune
upright.

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mechanical_fish
Okay, that goes on the list of _fun things I might do if I had a spare million
dollars_ : Donate a top-notch grand piano to a local school in exchange for
the right to play it occasionally.

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jhancock
or buy 5 of this guy's pianos for the same money and donate to 5 schools ;)

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mechanical_fish
Who says this guy isn't top-notch? I bookmarked him. I intend for my future-
millionaire fantasy self to be very frugal!

~~~
jhancock
don't count your generosity until its hatched ;). Its good to dream. Its
better to actualize.

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anonyreliant
The decent Chinese pianos already import the strings and soundboards from
abroad (or purchase them from manufacturers in-country). A lot of the
equipment has an undeservedly poor reputation: the low end of the market is
about $2000 USD not $10,000 USD. Perhaps shipping internationally is really
driving those costs up.

Regardless, it's great news if people who don't play keep purchasing
instruments - it increases the size of the market and drives down the costs
for people who do play but don't have money, like me.

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noonespecial
You can refactor pianos. Nice.

I think the most important thing he brings is the personal attention.
Something like a piano is going to have a lot of variance in mass production,
especially with cheap parts. Just having an expert look it over and set it up
is worth his price. Adding higher quality parts is just a nice bonus.

