Buying gray market pianos

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I’ve been in the market for an upgrade piano for the house.

One type I’ve looked at are built for the Japanes market but are sold in the US.  I’ve discovered that since they are not made for the US market, they usually end up with lots of problems when brought here, especially when used in the southwest, mountains, central plains/midwest and northeast.  The reason for the problems is not related to quality but to humidity.  

Pianos are made of different types of wood.  And those woods are seasoned differently.  Japan is relatively wet.  The US – outside of the bayou southeast and pacific northwest – is relatively dry.  In addition, US homes make much more use of air conditioning – a process that removes moisture from the indoor air.   Humidity deforms and distorts not only the soundboard but the cabinetry, which in turn distorts the sound.

Pianos made for the Japanese market are made with the “wet” recipe.  Pianos made for the US are made with the “dry” recipe.  When a piano made for the Japanese market is used in Japan and then sold to a US dealer – usually an independent dealer – for resale in the US, that piano becomes part of the “gray market.”

The only brands I’ve looked at are Kawai and Yamaha at an independent dealer in Baltimore.  Both makes are from two large shops in Hamamatsu.  A number of the pianos at the Baltimore shop were priced very very well.  Possibly too well.  And the sales guy was very suave and convincing.  He pitched the product well.

What to do, what to do.

I looked up a few piano tuners.  Asked questions.  Answers all came back the same.  Pianos with too-good pricing tend to be  made for the Japanese market and are sold in the US as gray market products.  Not black market as their sale is perfectly legal, but gray because known problems are not disclosed by the dealers.

I like Japanese-made pianos.  But it is difficult to find a good piano for cheap. 

Nordiskas make very nice grands, but those are too big and pricey.  Their verticals are nicely priced but lacking in quality.  Nordiskas are the only Chinese-made pianos I am willing to consider.  Many of the Chinese-made pianos have American names – Story & Clark, A.B. Chase, Evertt, Hardman, Cable, Weber, Bergmann, Hallett and Pearl River (the largest) but the quality of sound changes too much and the looks even within the same models were inconsistent.  And the tuners do not like working with those brands.

Young Chang and Samik are the better of the Korean-made pianos but there is still a lack of consistency in the quality of make and sound.  They tend to be better in sound and looks than the Chinese-mades.  I am told they tend to be difficult and pricey to tune.  And then there are the whispers that Young Chang may be going out of business.  Not good.

One Czech piano I tried, the Petrof, sounded warm and mellow but I do not like the super-gloss finish as it distorts the sound of more difficult pieces.  And the price was a bit steep. 

Estonia is another eastern European-made piano that is supposed be very nice.  But they are not sold in pennsyltucky or Baltimore.  The nearest dealer is in Smellydelphia.  And they sell only the grands in the US market.

Which brings me back to the Japanese pianos.  Yamaha I’ve known for years and have seen in many places.  I already have a Yamaha electric.  I’ve had other Yamaha products – motorcycle, first CD player, stereo – which were really really good.  The CD player is going on 2 decades and still works.

Good products for good prices.  I was hoping to get a really good price at the independent dealer’s shop in Baltimore.  But it looks as if I’ll have to go with something more expensive if I want the quality of sound that is so important with a piano.

update: put a deposit on a black Petrof 50″ vertical.  The store reduced the price by 10%, threw in the bench and a $35 book on Beattles music.  The purchase is contingent on their tuner getting a couple of off-key keys turner correctly.  I choose the Petrof over the 3 Yamaha’s I was considering at a different store (that store carried Yamaha but not Petrof; this store carried Petrof but not Yamaha) based on sound and price.  Also, I reviewed Larry Fine’s “The Piano Book” 4th edition, ISBN 1-929145-01-2 (www.pianobook.com or thru amazon) prior to making my purchase.  I considered getting a piano from one of the few fine quality American makers, Charles Walter, but the price for a comparable piece is nearly $16,000 and has a 9 month waiting period.  Maybe next time.

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Filed under Kawaii, Nordiskas, Pearl River, Petrof, Samick, Yamaha, Young Chang, gray market, japan, moisture, piano, pianos