Pianotech

  • 1.  Steinway Parts Price Increase?!

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 01-20-2021 18:13
    Has anyone been able to purchase action parts from Steinway recently? I just checked prices on their web site and see most items have nearly doubled since 1 year ago. Set of Pre-hung hammers for SML went from $1,726 to $3,123. Unbored SML hammers went from $651 to $1,253. Am I missing something here?

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    John Minor
    The Piano Shop Inc
    Champaign IL
    thepianoshopcu@gmail.com
    www.thepianoshopcu.com
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  • 2.  RE: Steinway Parts Price Increase?!

    Posted 01-20-2021 20:47
    yeah, you definitely are missing something here...get them from Ray Negron at  Ronsen. He'll provide a top quality artisan made hammer for $300 plus modest secondary process charges for boring, etc...and as a bonus, it all comes without $3,123 worth of bulls--t. Plus, and you get to buy a product from someone who is happy to make them for you, rather than a company who seems to be out to make your life gratuitously more stressful.

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    Jim Ialeggio
    grandpianosolutions.com
    Shirley, MA
    978 425-9026
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  • 3.  RE: Steinway Parts Price Increase?!

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 01-20-2021 22:25
    Goes hand in hand with their "legal threats". Saw that coming.

    Pwg

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    Peter Grey
    Stratham NH
    603-686-2395
    pianodoctor57@gmail.com
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  • 4.  RE: Steinway Parts Price Increase?!

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 01-20-2021 22:38
    Thanks, Jim. We have indeed been quite happy with Ray's hammers and boring service for some time now.

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    John Minor
    The Piano Shop Inc
    Champaign IL
    thepianoshopcu@gmail.com
    www.thepianoshopcu.com
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  • 5.  RE: Steinway Parts Price Increase?!

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 01-21-2021 10:40
    I too use Ronsen. 

    Pwg

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    Peter Grey
    Stratham NH
    603-686-2395
    pianodoctor57@gmail.com
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  • 6.  RE: Steinway Parts Price Increase?!

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 01-21-2021 13:02

    I love the Abel "Naturals" I get from Wally Brooks (Mel). Ive used them on many pianos including several Steinway grands. They've come out very nice.

     

    Why is Steinway shooting themselves in the foot? It's bad enough to demand their pianos be rebuilt themselves.  There are so many great technicians/rebuilders out there, I see this as nothing as cornering the market.

     

    Now if we rebuilders still use geniuine Steinway parts, is the piano still a Steinway or Stainway not using their rebuilding department?

     

    This price increase is out of hand.

     

    Paul

     






  • 7.  RE: Steinway Parts Price Increase?!

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 01-21-2021 20:24
    We purchase quite a few parts from Steinway - hammers, rails reps etc... since we build both keysets and complete action frames.  I'm seeing the same thing. For instance I purchased a set of unbored D hammers for about $650 a few months ago and now they are $1013.

    It looks like this has all happened within the last 30 days.

    Steinway is pricing themselves out of the action parts market it seems. 

    -Dean


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    Dean Reyburn, RPT
    Reyburn Pianoworks
    Reyburn CyberTuner
    1-616-498-9854
    dean@reyburn.com
    www.reyburnpianoworks.com
    www.cybertuner.com
    www.martysmasks.com 
    Facebook: www.facebook.com/dean.reyburn
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  • 8.  RE: Steinway Parts Price Increase?!

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 01-22-2021 11:43
    Not if you don't buy them.

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    David Love RPT
    www.davidlovepianos.com
    davidlovepianos@comcast.net
    415 407 8320
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  • 9.  RE: Steinway Parts Price Increase?!

    Posted 01-22-2021 18:58
    hello Dean,
    they try to force you to price yourself out of the market, that is if you want to use genuine S&S parts for rebuilding S$S pianos. It seems they want to try to be the only company to rebuild S&S: bold move but i don't know if you must use genuine S&S parts in order to achieve the same tone and control?
    Peter

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    Petrus Janssen
    Peachtree City GA
    678-416-8055
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  • 10.  RE: Steinway Parts Price Increase?!

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 01-21-2021 20:32
    Steinway has been ambivalent about selling parts for some time now. They're expensive to produce and not very profitable to sell. Now that they've acquired Renner they have the added disincentive of competing with another division if they operate in close to the same price point.
      In addition to those concerns is the uncertainty regarding the quality of the installation and the potential damage to the brand if the installer isn't doing good work. I've spent years listening to customers and technicians bitterly complaining that the instrument plays poorly and sounds bad "even though we used Genuine Steinway parts". The technician sells the customer on the idea that the work will be better because of the "Genuine" parts but lacks the expertise to do a credible job with them. The customer doesn't know how to evaluate their service provider but can tell that the job isn't satisfactory. Must be Steinway's fault. The customers frequently call the factory in New York looking for answers and that very rarely works out well from the company's perspective.
      There is also a re-evaluation of the company's position regarding the secondary market in used and "restored" Steinways. The company has come to see this market (incorrectly in my opinion) as a net negative for the brand. In particular the idea that one can have a new Steinway in an old case for a fraction of the cost of a new one is troublesome.  For the last 30 years or so the public has been sold on a price point of around $25,000 for a "restored" Steinway. This price point seems to be immune to time or the consumer price index. If the secondary market consisted of restorers who were getting 2/3 to 3/4 of the price of a new piano (as the best ones are these days) then I doubt that the company would have moved as aggressively to limit the availability of parts and decals. We had an opportunity 2 years ago to weigh in on these policies as a national trade organization but were too timid to do so. 
      As it stands the price for new parts will discourage their use by more casual restorers and if technicians don't want to pay the upcharge it's good for Chip Meyer and company. And for what it's worth Ray Negron makes a better hammer for most of my purposes anyway.

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    Karl Roeder
    Pompano Beach FL
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