Disklavier

Good afternoon, everyone.

With all due respect to Doug, I would like to offer an adamant and contrary 
opinion to most of what he has to say. In the interest of full disclosure, I 
will point out the fact that I am a consultant to Yamaha's Piano Division in the 
US. Please take my opinions with a large grain of salt if you wish.

In a message dated 6/10/03 3:32:32 PM, Doug writes:

<< Yamaha pianos do not last very long.>>

I believe that if you were to conduct a survey at a Piano Technicians Guild 
convention, you would find few technicians who would agree with this statement.

My first experience with Yamaha pianos was with a 1971 P2F upright. I pounded 
on it during 3 years of conservatory graduate school and several years after 
that during the period in which it was my primary instrument. Although it 
received less use in recent years, it is still an excellent piano in its category 
and holds its tune well.

<<It's one reason the Disklaiver is only

offered on new Yamaha pianos.>>

I can tell you with absolute certainty that Yamaha seriously considered 
offering Disklavier units as a retrofit. The decision not to do so was based 
largely on the fact that it would be a huge challenge to train and monitor an army 
of independent installers, deal with associated warranty issues, and similar 
matters. The decision had nothing to do with the longevity of the instrument 
itself.


<<Considering the mark up when you bought the piano, and how quickly the

electronics become outdated, you should probably try to sell the piano at

about one tenth of it's original purchase price. >>

About a year and a half ago, I had the experience of selling a DC6 that was 
made in 1992 in order to purchase a used DC6Pro. At the time that I sold the 
instrument to another teacher, the piano itself was in beautiful condition 
despite all of my playing on it as well as the repeated playing of disks. I had 
upgraded the electronics from a Mark II to a Mark IIXG. The current owner can now 
add a DCD1 to it and have most of the functionality of a Mark III piano.

I do agree that the electronics become dated. However, my experience with the 
enduring quality of the instrument itself, the upgradability that I have 
experienced with the electronics, and the availability of other add-ons leads me 
to challenge unequivocally the notion that one should expect to sell one's 
Disklavier for 1/10th of the original purchase price.

I personally believe that all new pianos depreciate a bit in their first few 
years so that they sell for less than new instruments. Subsequently, the best 
instruments that are kept in good condition may experience some appreciation 
due to inflation.

It is true that a Disklavier has both an acoustic piano part and an 
electronics parts. It is probably reasonable to assume that the electronics part 
depreciates faster than the piano part.

Regards,
PianoBench