I never met the man, but I’d bet he would think this title is stupid. It may be, but he is not. If you want one great read, subscribe to his blog. Clear, short and always valuable. One post titled “Everyone is Clueless”   got me thinking about its relevance to high end piano dealers and the regular feeling that selling a high end piano is a “happy accident” and that they should take any profit margin they can get. WRONG. Making these pianos available is a partnership with makers, technicians, distributors, dealers and customers. Every member of this partnership must receive value, and this value does not necessarily mean low price. To support the purchasers of these pianos as well as the makers, profit is required. Selling these pianos should not be accidents and this requires effort and expenditures by everyone involved.

A high end piano, while weighing hundreds of pounds, is actually quite a delicate item. The 2 biggest dangers are swings in humidity and improper servicing. Humidity: While high humidity (greater than 70%) can cause inconveniences, such as sticking keys, it rarely causes true damange. Besides, in this day and age most homes that have high end pianos have central air conditioning that keeps the humidity in the summer months at a relatively constant level. Low humidity (less than 40%) can truly damage your piano. This damage can include soundboard cracks, loose tuning pins, action problems and more. While maintaining a constant humidity level, say 45%, is desirable, it is difficult to achieve. The most critical step is to put an absolute limit to how low the humidity in the room can go. This usually means carefully tracking humidity with a simple hygrometer, available at most hardware stores, and adding

So, let’s pretend there is this prospect, a guy who  has been pestering dealers up and down the east coast for a couple of weeks. He doesn’t play, is relocating and well to do, looking to buy a piano for his family and wants to buy something good. He started looking for a used Steinway because he knew that was what he should get, right? Well, let’s pretend that a skilled dealer delivered his “epiphany”, namely that there are wonderful high end pianos in the world and none of them are built in Queens!  Now lets say the problem is that he has (remember, we’re pretending) a very incorrect notion of what these instruments cost and is beating up every dealer trying to buy one of these instruments ( a very specific model) below cost. Seems he’s a big shot financier and, well, you probably know the type. I’m very

I’m working on my concept  that we, as manufacturers, need to get together to develop and promote the idea of the High End Piano Experience, rather than assume that everybody agrees with our premise that these things are worth a lot of money. What is the HEPE? It’s the combination of an outstanding musical instrument and a product of supreme craftsmanship. The instrument needs to be one that is capable of giving an artist (at any level) a tool for exploring the real power of music to create and influence emotions. The product of craftsmanship should be associated with a long and noble history of the science and craft of piano building. The HEPE is best when experienced by a musician (of any level) but is not at all limited to those who play themselves. The craft aspects should appeal and give satisfaction to those that don’t play and the