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Maybe someone should start a new thread: "How to Pronounce Piano Brand Names"

How about:

Blüthner
Rönisch
Euterpe
Ibach (gotta love the eye-back!)
etc
etc

Yeah I have trouble with

Yamaha

I mean, is it...

Ya MA ha

YA ma ha

Ya ma HA

I struggle with it.

And I have a friend named Chuck who always tells me he has a

KIAWA

JD,



You'd think by now I wouldn't underestimate the insecurity of Hailun owners and dealers. But if agreeing with Sparky (isn't he a mensa candidate by now?) will make your Hailun piano sound better, I'm more than happy to help.

Norbert,



It would help if you qualify your statement (First price?). I know logical thought is not your forte, but you can at least give us a glimpse into your mental process, er, on second thought . . .


Mike

Not a problem.

Very happy to compare or have anybody compare a properly set up, well prepped piano against any of yours delivered in crate and shoved into customer's home.

Only disadvantage: our way "costs" dealers a bit more...

Norbert

Well, yeah. I'm a sucker for pulp fiction.

Since a member in Brazil has asked on this thread about a Feurich/Ningbo 218, maybe I could coax you to get even more specific (chuckle) about that one. I played a Haiun 218 and thought it had a lot to offer. A European piano savant who's been around the block and whom I trust thinks it has great promise, even as a concert instrument.

From reading your stuff, it seems that the Feurich version is true to the original -- Paullelo's strings and chosen hammers as well as his fourth pedal option. What does Feurich "seek" to accomplish beyond that?

Well, lets see. I think the screws in the music desk hinges could be changed to slot heads, in keeping with the European color we're looking for (!)

I have only seen 3 model 218's and my reaction was the same...there is really something there. However those were quick impressions of 3 different pianos in 3 different places. I have only in the past 2 weeks received one that I can work on and spend some time with. Piano Craft also got one so it will be interesting to see how these 2 pianos develop ... one in the hands of master craftsman with superior skills and the other in the hands of a non-value-adding dealer.

Now, THAT WAS A JOKE!!!! It was meant to humorously poke fun at the idea that all technicians and pianos are the same and a dealer cannot add value to a piano. The people at Piano Craft have superhuman skill, profound understanding and they make a mean cup of coffee. Their 218 will be, I'm sure, beautiful.

The real experiment would be to have 3 identical pianos in the same location, 2 prepared by different people and one in tuned but otherwise unprepared state. One would see the subtle differences that can be brought out of the same model and might encourage people to spend more maintaining their own pianos.

I am interested in the 4th pedal but have not brought any pianos in with that feature yet. We're still ramping up and I don't have the depth of resources to bring in instruments with these kinds of specific and possibly slow selling features (same with wood and white finish). However I'm happy to take an order!

We will regularly prepare the same model of piano side by side with a different final performance, Eric. Come to think of it, you might already know this.

We do this to show inexperienced customers what is possible in preparation and how any particular piano can be improved, changed, or customized in its performance.

It is this type of work that can add incredible value to any pianist with any musical discrimination. I accept that if you are offering spinets to total beginners this would be a waste of time.

My 2 cents,

Rich, you and I are brothers from another mother when it comes to the importance of prep. I know that has always been a hallmark of Cunningham. It would still be interesting to have 2 different techs each prepare examples of the same model.

It would be interesting, but practical is another story. The piano needs to be high enough quality to show the differences and then one has to ask if the effort (2 different techs preparing the same model) will pay off in sales. As I said, it would be interesting.

That's indeed very interesting.

For our top pianos like Sauter and Estonia we are regularly using 2 concert techs who are both fine pianists themselves.

But they also have their own touch/tone ideal.

It's become easy for me to tell "which is which" - each leaving his own signature.

A fantastic way to show customers the variability of instruments and how it all can be applied to own's preference.

Norbert

Boseric,

Since you no longer work for Bosendorfer and are apparently, for the moment, Feurich’s stateside front man shouldn’t you change your handle to Feric?

This seems like the first time I recall that a German piano maker not totally defunct has stenciled its name intact on a Chinese product. Will you be able to determine the Feurich “inspired” Hailuns at a glance? A “C” above the i? Seriously, how many of the German made Feurichs, the real thing so to speak, were sold in the states last year? The year before that?

And isn’t this enthusiasm for dealer prep just another marketing device for dealer profit? Like an extended warranty or an auto dealer coating the underside of new cars with a “secret recipe” that’s marked up 400 per cent?

Why isn’t post factory prep best done in the customers home as in the case of Steinway and Shigeru?

All this talk about techs prepping an instrument depends a lot on their work, as far as touch and tone, coinciding with a given customer’s, whoever happens to walk in the door, er, dreams. Otherwise the “quality” dealer has his work cut out convincing the customer what is good for them, which just happens to be what they have on their floor at the moment. Or as one dealer describes this process, “to show inexperienced customers what is possible in preparation and how any particular piano can be improved, changed, or customized in its performance . . .”

Turandot,

This is probably old news but didn’t Petrof join the Hailun distribution network?

Mike

Nobody said work in the home was not necessary Mike.

Tremendous prep. does not usually mean that a dealer can command more money for a certain piano (but sometimes it does). What it does mean is that the dealer will gain a reputation for having great pianos with the people that matter most - pianists.

This can lead to more referrals, which can lead to more sales.

It's yah-mah-ha with virtually no accent. Japanese is very lightly accented if at all. For example, we (incorrectly) pronounce the nightclub singing game: care-ee-OH-kee. In japanese it's: kah-reh-oh-keh with some speaker swallowing the second "a". The city destroyed at the end of war II is hi-roh-shi-mah not hee-row-SHEE-mah as it is pronounced here in the U.S.

Kurt



Kurt

"Whoever walks into the door" may be the case of your piano business, for others shoppers often come from far away seeking that something special.

Nice to be able serving 2 different groups...

Norbert

Because most pianos will not sound/play that good without a reasonable amount of prep and many buyers would not want to choose a piano based on how they hoped it would sound/play.

Shigerus and Steinways are not unprepped when they come from the factory and are also prepped by dealers(Steinway maybe less than some other makes or moe depending on the particular dealer). Shigeru offers additional in home prep by one of their master techs to improve the piano further and customize it more.

ESP(Endless Self Promotion)

Pianoloverus:

I was keeping this back for a long time.
While you are hiding behind a Synonym, I know who you are.

I want you to know that the New York dealers you visited during your own piano shopping spree are still talking about you.

According to them, your case was the worst customer "self-promotion" they could remember. Some of them said you "drove them plain nuts" Others described you as "customer from h..."

Perhaps time to humble yourself a bit with your endless accusations of others - and me in particular.

Now bash me all you want - I'm off to someone's wedding..
Have fun!

Norbert

Plenty of members know who I am. I don't know if you do because you wrote many very silly posts in the past accusing me of being an industry professional.

I cannot fathom what you think "customer self promotion" means...it's a meaningless phrase.

I basically dealt with only one dealer so there are no dealerS. I have gotten a lot of very friendly and detailed advice from various PW dealers via PM.

The details of my piano shopping have nothing to do with your ESP. Endless Self Promotion was used by another member to describe your posts...I was only clever enough to think of the acronym.

Wow, a lot of folks participating in this thread got up on the wrong side of the bed this morning...

Who was it that said “can’t we all get along?” (The late Rodney King?)

Lets stop beating each other up so badly...

Rick

It seems like a lot of people on PW have said something to that effect lately. Ironically it also seems like it's been the kiss of death for civility in any thread in which it appears. Friends, please prove me wrong!

Wow...Mike Carr is picking on me!! I must have made it into the big time!