I said goodbye to a friend recently. While with Yamaha in the 90’s I purchased a Yamaha concert grand…a CFIII 51GX to be precise. GX designates an experimental model and 51 designates the series. The 51 was a design experiment that incorporated a number of design features of a popular concert grand made by a […]
HEP Guy
Lacey Act, Gibson and Pianos
The Gibson Company was raided twice by agents of the US Fish and Wildlife Service, once in 2009 and again in 2010, on suspicion that Gibson had acquired ebony and other rare woods illegally. The musical instruments industry press went crazy decrying the action (apparently some agents had drawn guns!) and the laws leading to […]
More Changes at Steinway
I presented on European pianos at a meeting of the NYC chapter of the Piano Technicians Guild recently. Before my presentation, the manager of retail service at Steinway Hall in New York gave a presentation on changes in his department. Essentially, Steinway Hall is eliminating its complete retail service department, passing on all retail service […]
Thinking about Michael Jackson
I’m over Arizona at 30,000 feet catching up on my writing. Delta, my new favorite airline after Jet Blue went mainstream, offers on-demand video which really helps the time pass. I’ve watched District 9, and September Issue and am now completely caught up in the Michael Jackson film This Is It. Even a small 9″ […]
Why Should You?
There are many things on which to spend money. Good old Mazlow spelled them out for us. A piano is an investment in oneself, in ones striving for culture, experience and to some gods grace. Grace can be, of course, in anything. However an expensive, craft build piano is a particularly unique example. If you […]
Interesting reading
Greg Billings, a Steinway dealer in Florida tells you a lot about Steinway’s marketing strategy.