Comments on Cline brand grand pianos???
Dee Wilson
I am in the market for a piano and have only about 6000$ to spend. I
still have a lot of looking to do but have found what seems to be a good
deal on a new 5' 3" Cline grand piano. I have a copy of Larry Fine's
"Piano Book"; however, he does not discuss this brand. I was hoping to
hear from anyone who has owned a Cline or anyone else with information
to share on this manufacturer. I have heared that Young Chang bought
and now produces the Cline pianos. Is this true?
Thanks in advance for any help.
Dee
t.jef...@m-cllp.com
In article <3519FFD4...@slip.net>,
Fine's (and many others') advice and look at buying a large upright that will
likely give you a larger sound than a grand of the size of the Cline. I have
never heard of a Cline, but that doesn't mean much, as I am no expert. Fine
and others, if I recall correctly, recommend a large upright over a grand
under approx. 5 1/2 feet.
Trevor
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Trey Behan
> I have heared that Young Chang bought
>and now produces the Cline pianos. Is this true?
Cline is simply a name owned by a West Coast family. After years of disuse,
Cline was resurrected as a Kimball for a while in the early '90's. When Kimball
mercifully quit building verticals (there was no grand at the time), I saw a
galley of the "Cline story" prepared for their planned brochure. It was a total
fabrication, based on a kind of Westward-HO Henry Steinway-type character.
The guy was really nothing more than an early mass-marketer of pianos in the
Northwest.
Because of Young Chang's connection with a company involving the name-owners, I
wouldn't be surprised if a Cline is now a Young Chang. At any rate, it's a
stencil job. Caveat Emptor.
Roy Larrick
Woa, boy. . . gotta stop here for a minute to dust off the boots. . . since
we're the "Westward-HO" characters. . . . . now back to reality.....
The "Cline" piano is a brand name marketed in Northern California. It is
correct, Chester Cline was a early mass-marketer of pianos in the Northwest
becomming famous for selling a large number of instruments, offering good
service, and a good value for the dollar. Something that remains the same
today. If you do the comparison of all 5'3" grands on the market today you
will find the size, materials used, and specifications are compariable to
instruments that cost more, sometimes alot more. Very few instruments in
the late '80s were produced by Jasper American (Kimball), only one model
console. Todays instrument is manufactured by Young Chang Korea, to our
specifications, and most models come with a "lifetime warranty" to the
original purchaser.
As to ownership, there is no west coast family, currently only myself and
one other partner. "Cline, since 1889" is a US registered trademark, and
has been selling instruments most of this century. If someone is looking
for a major brand name to pay extra for, then please do so. If the customer
is looking for a good value for the dollar, then we have the instrument.
Roy Larrick
Cline Piano Company
9500 Micron Ave #100
Sacramento, Ca. 95827
(800) 498-8110
Trey Behan <trey...@aol.com> wrote in article
<199803261431...@ladder03.news.aol.com>...
DZappa
>>Todays instrument is manufactured by Young Chang Korea, to our
specifications<<
Roy:
I have always found this statement to ring a bit hollow. I'm not saying that
your company isn't playing a role in the manufacturing process, but exactly
what how do your "specifications" differ from those of Knabe or Weber (other
than yours obviously won't grill a burger)?
I have had extensive experience with several "2nd line" Korean pianos made by
both Samick & YC. In the case of DH Baldwin/Wurlitzer the "made to our
specifications" basically meant (like the Samick-distributed Kohler & Campbell)
the pianos eventually went to a solid rather than laminated board. But this
only occured after Samick decided to put solid boards in the Kohlers.
I personally feel that there is not much significant difference today in the
Kohler SKG400 and the Wurlitzer C143. Same holds true for the Knabe / Weber.
There certainly isn't enough significant design difference between these pianos
IMO for the distributers to say "made to our specs". I suspect the reality of
the situation is they choose from two or three spec sets OFFERED Young Chang
and Samick.
I haven't seen a Cline piano so I won't comment on it's similarities or
differences to the models above.
Let me know if I'm totally off-base here.
Dave
Retail salesperson representing Steinway/Boston, Yamaha, Samick, Kohler &
Campbell, PianoDisc and Clavinova. Support a local service-oriented dealer.
Opinions expressed are my own and not necessarily those of my employer.
Trey Behan
>Cline Piano Company
>9500 Micron Ave #100
>Sacramento, Ca. 95827
A couple of years ago I had some time to kill between planes in Sacramento, and
checked out the piano stores. At this address was a strip-mall retail operation
representing several different lines, including Cline. Is this store still in
business, or has Cline Piano Company taken it over as its headquarters? Surely
the Cline Piano Company isn't really just a piano store with Cline as a YC
stencil store brand.(?)
>As to ownership, there is no west coast family, currently only myself and one
other partner.
The "current" info is appreciated, although I'm sorry to hear it's no longer a
family-owned brand.
>"Cline, since 1889" is a US registered trademark, and
has been selling instruments most of this century.
>famous for selling a large number of instruments, offering good
service, and a good value for the dollar. Something that remains the same
today.
Now that you have our interest, how about enhancing Cline's fame by posting the
company's long-term history? You're right! A little-known (or "famous") brand
of quality pianos can be a real find for many, but only with a credible and
specific Reputation (to go with the Tone and Touch). Besides, many of us in
this ng are fascinated by this sort of thing!
Thank you.
Trey
DZappa
>Besides, many of us in this ng are fascinated by this sort of thing!
Is it just me, or does this comment make you want to go outside and ride your
mountain bike?
nepianos
Todays instrument is manufactured by Young Chang Korea, to our
>specifications, and most models come with a "lifetime warranty" to the
>original purchaser.
>
Hi Roy:
I would like to know what those different specifications are. To my
knowledge, the Cline piano is a Young Chang production piano with the name
Cline on the fallboard.
Regards,
Joe Bednar (Formerly Young Chang District Sales Manager)
Trey Behan
>>"Cline, since 1889" is a US registered trademark, and
>has been selling instruments most of this century.
>>famous for selling a large number of instruments, offering good
>service, and a good value for the dollar. Something that remains the same
>Now that you have our interest, how about enhancing Cline's fame by posting
>the
>company's long-term history? You're right! A little-known (or "famous") brand
>of quality pianos can be a real find for many, but only with a credible and
>specific Reputation (to go with the Tone and Touch). Besides, many of us in
>this ng are fascinated by this sort of thing! (As requested by Trey Behan)
I expected to be, and am, fascinated by the as-yet unposted Cline history. If
I'm considering a secondary piano purchase, and have been advised by Mr.
Larrick that Cline is "a good value for the dollar," I agree with dzappa: How
do I differentiate the Cline from other (better-known) Korean stencils?
John S. Gray
With stencil pianos: avoid the stencil and save $$$$. If it is a YC or
Samick, go to the dealers who carry `em. The more anglo-saxon the name on
the Korean piano, the higher the price, in my experience.
Leave Cline to do their work: if the pianos are overpriced then they will
lose business in the end. Nothing as outrageous as the fiasco re:
Heintzman & Co. (Jankura vs. Charlie Heintzman) that we had up here in
Canada a few years ago. it went to court and even Anton Kuerti testified.
JG
Trey Behan
>I would like to know what those different specifications are. To my
>knowledge, the Cline piano is a Young Chang production piano with the name
>Cline on the fallboard.
>
>
The Cline sales pitch was pretty good, but the silence on brand
"specifications" and history is deafening.
Joe & Kathy
I was calling around yesterday to see if a "local" (within 50 miles or so)
had a Young Chang PF110, which is a Korean made Pramberger design piano.
One dealer said "Oh no, we don't carry YC, but we have Weber, the germanic
brand after which YC was fashioned. So I guess his pitch is pretty good. I
thought that YC was the chicken that came before the (modern) Weber egg.
Kathy
from the beautiful Pocono Mountains
****************************************************************************
********************
Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not to your own
understanding.
In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths. Proverbs
3:5-6
Trey Behan wrote in message
<199804081313...@ladder03.news.aol.com>...
Dave Zappa
Joe & Kathy wrote:
>
> One dealer said "Oh no, we don't carry YC, but we have Weber, the germanic
> brand after which YC was fashioned. So I guess his pitch is pretty good. I
> thought that YC was the chicken that came before the (modern) Weber egg.
Oh man, what a LIIIINNNNEEEE!!!! Run away, quickly and far, from that
salesperson! His "pitch" was HORRIBLE because it is complete and utter
nonsense. Is there any better reason than statements like this why
piano salespeople get such a reputation? Give me this guy's name. I'd
like to come see the "beautiful Pocono mountains" and kick his lying
Pocono a**!! Weber was built in New York, not Germany and YC was not
"fashioned" after it. YC is the chicken, metaphorically speaking....
Ugg, how stupid does he think you are? He obvioudsly didn't spend much
time *listening* to you....
Dave
--
Retail salesperson representing Steinway/Boston, Yamaha, Samick,
Kohler & Campbell, PianoDisc and Clavinova. Please support your
local service-oriented dealer. Opinions expressed are my own and
may not reflect those of my employer. To reply via e-mail please
remove the "SPAMTHIS" from address.
Joe & Kathy
Actually, the "original" YC (Weber) dealer is in Whitehall (Allentown) on
MacArthur Road.
I steer away from anyone who says they "have the best", "are the best",
"sell the most", etc. When someone is good, their reputation usually
speaks for them.
Thank God, because of this group, I am much smarter now than I was two
months ago. At least now I can spot a lie.
This really is a good place for a total novice to get worthwhile
information.
Kathy
from the beautiful Pocono Mountains
****************************************************************************
********************
Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not to your own
understanding.
In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths. Proverbs
3:5-6
Dave Zappa wrote in message <352BDE...@swbell.net>...
Dave Zappa
Dave Zappa wrote:
>
> Joe & Kathy wrote:
> >
> > One dealer said "Oh no, we don't carry YC, but we have Weber, the germanic
> > brand after which YC was fashioned. So I guess his pitch is pretty good. I
> > thought that YC was the chicken that came before the (modern) Weber egg.
>
> Oh man, what a LIIIINNNNEEEE!!!! Run away, quickly and far, from that
> salesperson! His "pitch" was HORRIBLE because it is complete and utter
> nonsense. Is there any better reason than statements like this why
> piano salespeople get such a reputation? Give me this guy's name. I'd
> like to come see the "beautiful Pocono mountains" and kick his lying
> Pocono a**!! Weber was built in New York, not Germany and YC was not
> "fashioned" after it. YC is the chicken, metaphorically speaking....
>
> Ugg, how stupid does he think you are? He obvioudsly didn't spend much
> time *listening* to you....
I got an email today regarding this post I wanted to share with
everyone. I received the following e-mail message today:
>>The store they called is where I work. I happened to be sitting near
the salesperson when the call came in asking for a specific Pramberger
design vertical with French Provincial dark wood that they saw at a
dealer where they live near Scranton or Stroudsburg, PA. In no way did
he say that the Young Chang was fashioned after the Weber, matter of
fact the exact conversation started out that "......no, we carry the
Weber line which is made by Young Chang". At that point you get the
typical questions of what is it and so on and generally give the short
answer for the Samick/Young Chang "an AngloSaxon/Germanic name put on a
South Korean piano". Most of the short conversation, outside of the
Pramberger design, had to do with the Dark French Provincial design and,
yes, Weber has several designs very similar to the Young Chang (don't
recall the word 'fashioned' being used but the gist of this part of the
conversation was along that thread).
We are the Steinway-Yamaha dealer for the area, and frankly, outside of
salesmanship, I really do believe the Yamaha is superior to the Korean
pianos and prefer to sell them over the others (ironically, in many
instances, I can make more selling the Korean because of the strong
Yamaha competition in the area).<<
Ok, so now I have both sides and would like to retract my original
statement, and apologize publically to this dealer. Another instance of
shooting off my mouth before having all the facts. Please disregard my
earlier comments.
Cheers!~
Joe & Kathy
David,
I called several several dealers looking to see if they had the PF110 in the
store, since I had spoken the Young Chang and they told me it was a new
model. I did not see it in a store anywhere. But one of the dealers
ABSOLUTELY told me all that "Weber GERMANIC NAME" stuff. I was already
aware that YC made the Weber/Samick pianos.
Perhaps the dealer (person who responded) coincidently got a call from
someone else that day; since none of the dealers I spoke to went into
details about Weber/Samick being made by YC, because I know this and would
never have questioned them about this. I don't think it would be too hard
to believe that two people would be looking for a piano in a 50/60 mile
radius, especially when there is only one YC dealer (very small) in
Stroudsburg (who in fact is my voice teacher and is out of town) and most
people from that area shop out of area due to the limited availability of
things in the Stroudsburg area.
So David you were not premature in your opinions; there were just two
different dealers involved (actually I called about 4 looking for one who
might have the model on their floor, so that I could go and see it).
Obviously the one who responded was giving truthful, correct information,
but probably just not to ME. Which dealer are they, perhaps I should go
there?
Kathy
from the beautiful Pocono Mountains
****************************************************************************
********************
Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not to your own
understanding.
In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths. Proverbs
3:5-6
Dave Zappa wrote in message <352CC5...@swbell.net>...
Joe & Kathy
David,
I also need to apologize. Probably what was misleading, as I reread the
post is the location - I was doing it from memory. Most that I called were
in the Whitehall/Allentown/MacArthur Rd. area, not necessarily on MacArthur
Road in Whitehall.
I had already made all my calls and didn't look at the web page list of
dealers to give a specific location. Sorry for that confusion; I'll make
sure to be much more careful in the future.
Kathy
--
CV...@yahoo.com
In article <gn4X.195$%V5.15...@nnrp2.ptd.net>,
"Joe & Kathy" <jkt...@ptd.net> wrote:
>
> David,
>
> I called several several dealers looking to see if they had the PF110 in the
> store, since I had spoken the Young Chang and they told me it was a new
> model. I did not see it in a store anywhere. But one of the dealers
> ABSOLUTELY told me all that "Weber GERMANIC NAME" stuff. I was already
> aware that YC made the Weber/Samick pianos.
>
> Perhaps the dealer (person who responded) coincidently got a call from
> someone else that day; since none of the dealers I spoke to went into
> details about Weber/Samick being made by YC, because I know this and would
>
Kathy, one thing that I must point out is that Young Chang DOES NOT make
Samick, though you are correct that YC makes Weber. YC and Samick are direct
competitors; both are based in South Korea, have highly automated factories,
and go to market under a variety of names and channels. But they are
different companies and the piano designs are different as well.
Cork Van Den Handel
city...@aol.com
> I am in the market for a piano and have only about 6000$ to spend. I
> still have a lot of looking to do but have found what seems to be a good
> deal on a new 5' 3" Cline grand piano. I have a copy of Larry Fine's
> "Piano Book"; however, he does not discuss this brand. I was hoping to
> hear from anyone who has owned a Cline or anyone else with information
>
> Dee