Question - NOT a request for an argument

THE WINDUP:

I went to an armory sale yesterday. Not to buy, as I was quite clear to the staff at the entry, who dutifully asked me to sign up for a 'drawing' (for what, I have no idea), while they figured out which salesman was up in the rotation to 'assign' me to.

I really just wanted to go in and see the various pianos, and maybe try a few of them, *then* ask any questions of a salesman not busy with a serious buyer. But of course the sale wasn't structured to permit that. As soon as I found that out, I took a different tack. First, after meeting the salesman, I told him that a.) I AM NOT buying a piano today, I was only trying to gain information and education for a future purchase (truth); b.) I know absolutely NOTHING about pianos and piano construction (partial truth); c.) I myself do not play (many would claim this is absolute truth); and d.) I would ultimately be buying a piano for my daughters to learn on (hopefully truth).

I realized that this sale was the salesguys' bread and butter, and I truly did not go in there wanting to waste anyone's time that would otherwise be pursuing a serious sale. But I guess I didn't feel too guilty with the partial truths told because, frankly, I resented not being able to browse without a full-time 'escort.'

The reason I said that I didn't play, and that I didn't know anything about pianos was that I decided that if I were going to be led around virtually on a leash, I wanted to hear the 'pure pitch.' IOW, what is this guy telling the average, uninformed person walking in the door.

I will say that, by and large, what he said generally held true to what I've read and seen discussed in the newsgroup. One thing that he showed me raised a question in my mind.

THE PITCH

The sales guy pointed out on an upright (manufactured by a competing brand, of course) utilized an aluminum main action rail, whereas on their brand only used wood, which he said was preferable, although more expensive. I asked him why it was preferable, and his response was that the aluminum rail would strip out easier, causing problems in regulating, and that the techs preferred the wood.

MY ACTUAL QUESTION:

Now, the question: if you are a tech, what is your opinion and experience with an aluminum main action rail versus wood? And if you happen to be a manufacturer reading this, what are the various 'positions' regarding the acceptability, or preferability, of either? I'm not looking for reams of documentation and counter documentation, I'm just curious as to the basic positions.

To my mind, an answer like 'After testing, we felt that while aluminum had a shorter lifespan than wood, it had an acceptable lifespan under normal home use and expected maintenance schedules, so we were able to reduce the cost of the piano $5.00' is, believe it or not, an acceptable and even logical answer. Likewise, an answer of 'We've always used wood, and it works great. Wood has worked for years, and our retooling costs to switch to aluminum would offset any cost savings to us' is equally acceptable. I don't want to hear that one, or the other, is absolutely stupid and unacceptable (obviously untrue, or they wouldn't be used). I can appreciate that there are different levels of performance required for home versus professional use, and that either is appropriate in its intended venue. AND I DON'T WANT TO START A BIG ARGUMENT!!!! In the end, it just doesn't matter, at the moment, I'm not buying either one. Just curious, not argumentative.

Dwain Lee my 'serious' website: http://www.dlarch.com my 'only-for-fun' piano-related website:

Both materials have been used in millions of pianos. So far there is no REAL problems with either.

On a side note - The Armory/College/Whatever Sales are very costly to set up. Because of the large turnout, they do not have the time for browsers or to give you an education. Why not browse/educate at local dealerships and go to big 'Sales' to buy.

<snip for brevity>

Dwain, you are right on the money. 5 years ago, I worked in a piano store for a year. These sales would come up every 3 months or so. From the salesman's point of view, you have the opportunity to sell more pianos in 3 days than you would normally sell in a month, so the comment about it being his bread and butter is true. The only advantage I could see in the sales is that the prices were on the pianos. The actual price was a bunch of hocus pocus the owner decided on at the time of closing. Closing a deal and moving on to the next customer is object of this exercise. What I found most appalling were the tactics the owner used. I had many customers who came into the shop who would then attend the 'sale' and find the price no different than the best price we offered in the store. If I brought this to the owners attention, she might or might not take an extra $50 off the price. The most common trick was to sell one piano, but deliver another one that had been in inventory longer. I decided after a year that I wasn't cut out to be a piano salesman.

M. Slater

When the piano is made well, both are good. When they are not made well, a hole drilled in the wrong place in an aluminum rail presents a very serious problem, whereas a hole drilled wrong in a wooden rail at least has the potential for an effective plug-n-redrill fix, though there are often enough other 'poor quality issues' present, that to try and fix that one thing can be a bit like throwing good money after bad.

OTOH, in cheaply made pianos with wood rails, there are a lot more warped/bent/delaminated action rails around, though virtually none aluminum.

Real Life: There are a lot of badly made pianos with both aluminum and wooden action rails. In the case of aluminum, I have encountered some where the holes were drilled in the wrong place, so the hammers don't line up with the strings, and it's basically tough luck- not much that can be done about it within a budget that makes sense given the value and quality of the piano. In the case of wood rails, there are a large number of warped or inadequately rigid ones AND rails where the holes are in bad alignment and the hammers don't line up with the strings, and there's not much that can be done within a budget that makes sense given the value and quality of the piano.

So with either one you have the potential for bad alignment in the drilling of the holes. But only in the wooden rail models do you have the potential for warping or bending of a rail under stress (sustain pedal), which commonly results in uneven damper lifting. In the wooden one it is theoretically more feasible to fix bad holes, but as a practical matter will rarely get done because it's a cheap piano.

As far as *stripping* holes in an aluminum rail goes- there's always the next bigger screw.

Generally speaking- when you are comparing good quality pianos, either aluminum or wood suffices. With poor quality pianos, either one can be screwed up, but as I find more warped wood problems than badly drilled aluminum problems I think the aluminum has the edge.

Rick Clark

Thanks for a balanced, real world reply, Rick.

Perhaps 'wary' isn't as good a word to use as 'cognizant.' If buyers weren't as hungry for a 'deal' as dealers are for a purchase, there would be no need to add the cost of promotion to a piano transaction.

It's a fact that there is no need to wait to see ads in the media to get a better-than-posted price on a piano. You just have to be willing to buy one, and to make a lower offer

Hi Trey,

That was an excellent post. It would be hard to find a more honest and accurate picture of the whole process. Good job.

Larry Fletcher Pianos Inc Atlanta GA Dealer/technician

I stink......therefore I am.

Hi Trey, I couldn't agree more with your thoughts; I hope that you didn't think that I was 'sale- or dealer- bashing.' And just so you know, I sell professional services for a living - not products, but the concepts and issues are very similar - so while I appreciate the 'welcome' to sales, I've been there for over ten years.

And you're correct, 'cognizant' is a much better term. I think the term 'wary' may have left a negative connotation that I hadn't really intended.

No, but other factors may point toward that assessment of me.

But what about those aluminum action rails? I got more response to that post for the 'windup' than for my real question I should have known, I mentioned armory sales, the 'third rail' of piano retailing!

Dwain Lee my 'serious' website: http://www.dlarch.com my 'only-for-fun' piano-related website:

Coming from you, that's high praise. Thank you.

Trey Behan