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Larry Caruso
I was fortunate enough to
have spent half a month in Japan. I was there to get my questions
answered about new and used Japanese pianos. What I
was hearing in the US wasn't making sense. I wanted a better
understanding of the piano collection and refurbishing business in
Japan. I also wanted to visit to Kawai Piano and Yamaha
Musical world headquarters in Hamamatsu City. I had some questions how
they were made.
The finest pianos in the world are made in
Japan
My days were spent visiting
piano refurbishing and collection facilities all over the country as
well as touring the major piano makers. I found that there were
different levels of refurbishment being done. The more rural shops
still did everything by hand and the bigger city operations were
semi-automated. Some of the places just cleaned and buffed the pianos
and others did more extensive work. Some pianos came from private
owners homes and others were randomly collected from schools,
nightclubs and recording studios.
Climate
I learned that Japan's
climate is identical to that of North America. It ranges from extremely
dry to horribly humid. Most days are pleasant but depending on where
you are it could snow or rain. I've learned that every home, even the
most modest ones have central heat and air conditioning. The
weather in Japan varies as much as it does here. You can go snow skiing
or water skiing depending on where you are.
Piano
seasoning
I know the truth about
seasoning, there is no such thing ! All of the pianos are made the
same. If you take a moisture meter and compare pianos, and we did,
they're all identical. They have the same core moisture content.
There's no such thing as a gray market piano. When I told an executive
from the largest piano maker in Japan about seasoning for destination
he actually laughed out loud. Why would the pianos be be made
differently, he asked. The climate here is the same as it is in North
America.
Now
we know
The trip reinforced my belief
that the finest pianos in the world are made in Japan and guess what,
they stay there. The best of the best pianos are not exported out of
the country, or not at least when they're new. Interesting note: When
you want to buy a new piano in Japan you go directly to the factory or
a company owned store. You can play dozens of pianos in specially
designed listening rooms. You can pick the best sounding and playing
one and then have it delivered to your home. This is how the finest
ones end up staying in Japan and those are the piano I buy. Privately
owned, well maintained, hand picked instruments. We bring home the
cream of the crop when it comes to pre-owned Yamaha and Kawai
pianos.
We've got lots more first
hand info to share with you so please call 800-264-6614. We love to
talk pianos and we feel we have the best ones to offer.
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Spotless Osaka Subways
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Snow in Tokyo
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