this article appeared in the music trades recently and leaves a lot of questions in my mind. I am in the process of proposing a
rebuild of the top action in a Steinway M that has a mixture of parts in it and a number of issues . someone someplace swapped out the whippens , put in universal whippens and reused the verdigris loaded clamshell flanges. same thing with the hammers- new shanks/felt/knuckles with old clamshell flanges. they also doused the action with teflon or possibly baby powder. action plays heavy and hangs up
i don't need a decal but what do I explain to the customer - should I just propose
Steinway only parts plus my action rebuild fees or do i give her a less expensive option using high quality rebuilder proven parts and get a signoff from her that she now has a Steinwas .... and it will bring less in the future and is "counterfeit"
this article seems to threaten big time legal action and legal exposure to any technician who uses any non-steinway part
Can we get some help from the PTG legal team in making up a legal document template we can attach to proposals so that customers can not say they never where told that adding non-Steinway parts would make their pianos a Steinwas ? I see problems down the road when an owners estate tries to sell a deceased's piano and finds out the piano is no longer a genuine Steinway. Same thing if we broker a piano for resale that has mixed parts
if you don't think this will happen think again. i have had people insist that grandmas or mothers piano is worth 25k or more when in fact it needed a total action rebuild. when i quoted using S&S genuine parts plus my work I never heard back
https://www.musictrades.com/news1.html------------------------------
James Kelly
Pawleys Island SC
843-325-4357
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