Samick Pianos
foo
I have heard repeatedly on this ng that smaller Korean pianos ( Samick
has been mentioned ) are inferior and may not last past a generation.
Well, of course, there is a Samick upright sitting in my living room. I
have no idea how it got there, but there it is. My questions are:
What is inferior about the piano(sound and physical construction)?
What is likely to deteriorate over time?
What should I look out for (both by physical inspection and change in
sound)?
Is there anything that I can do from a maintenance standpoint that will
delay the deterioration of the piano?
Is there anything a technician can do that will delay the deterioration
of the piano?
Dan
Dan Pelletier
Sorry about the foo/lala return address stuff. I have been trying to
avoid being spammed. I forgot that posting to the ng would send that
garbage.
Dan
pTooner
foo wrote:
Hi foo, or Dan, as a working technician, professional pianist, and
former store owner I see nothing wrong with Samick pianos. I don't like
the way they sound, personally, but from a build quality standpoint I
think they are as well or better built than anything else at the same
price range. There is a lot of snobbery and elitism that goes on in
this ng, and I suppose it is inevitably so. Just don't take any of this
too seriously. I could actually afford a Steinway D if I wanted it
badly enough, and I think it is by far the finest piano in the world.
However, I have never bought any Steinway for my own use because it is
just too much money to make sense. No, I don't own a Samick either, but
some of them are very fine pianos. Unfortunately, they are now
importing some pianos from Indonesia and they are not nearly as good as
the Korean Samicks although they are probably worth the low price they
sell for.
Gerry
--
邢 唷��
Jason Sifford
I spoke with one of the people who helped design the Samick instruments
once. Bascially, he said that the Samick company cuts a lot of corners.
They use one less bolt here, a little bit poorer quality wood there, so I
think it's mostly a materials issue.
One of the things you'll notice is that the grain in the soundboard is
probably inconsistent or coarse. The best soundboards have a very fine
grain and are very consistent. The difference? Well, with an "imperfect"
soundboard, you might have some notes stick out here and there (color and
dynamic- wise).
Don't feel bad about getting a Samick. It's not a sturdy as some other
brands, so you might find yourself tuning it more often than you'd like
(watching the humidity and temperature would be a good idea), but I wouldn't
lose any sleep over it.
(I will also admit that my source worked on the Grands, so what I said might
not apply to yours.)
foo wrote in message <34918C...@lala.com>...
Jay/Deb Mercier
All I know about Samicks is that I hate tuning them because they tune up
like shit.
Trey Behan
>All I know about Samicks is that I hate tuning them because they tune up
>like shit.
Begs the question: How does shit tune up? Does it sound better with mean-tone
or equal-temperament? Are most customers for this service pet owners? And do
you tune it mostly by ear, or otherwise? :)
Mark Eisenman
I've never played one (even the grands up to 7ft. that felt good to play,
stayed in tune, had a nice tone, that didn't have both the una corda pedal
and sustain pedal squeeking.
Find me one professional pianist who says he's had a good or even adequate
experience with one of those pianos. Please.
Also, when you slide the music stand towards you it touches the fallboard
making it fall on the keys. For an instrument that should be manufactured to
tolerances of thousanths of an inch ,this gross innacuaracy in design does
not inspire confidence. It's too easy to get THAT right.....and they didn't.
Jay/Deb Mercier wrote:
> All I know about Samicks is that I hate tuning them because they tune up
> like shit.
>
> foo wrote in message <34918C...@lala.com>...
> >I have heard repeatedly on this ng that smaller Korean pianos ( Samick
> >has been mentioned ) are inferior and may not last past a generation.
> >Well, of course, there is a Samick upright sitting in my living room. I
> >have no idea how it got there, but there it is. My questions are:
> >
> >What is inferior about the piano(sound and physical construction)?
> >What is likely to deteriorate over time?
> >What should I look out for (both by physical inspection and change in
> >sound)?
> >Is there anything that I can do from a maintenance standpoint that will
> >delay the deterioration of the piano?
> >Is there anything a technician can do that will delay the deterioration
> >of the piano?
> >
> >Dan
--
MARK EISENMAN
276 WILLOW AVE. TOR. ONT.
CANADA M4E-3K7
PHONE: 416-694-6688
FAX: 416-690-0587
e-mail: eise...@yorku.ca
please visit
VOCE88
>Find me one professional pianist who says he's had a good or even adequate
>experience with one of those pianos. Please.
Just an observation - The Philadelphia Youth Orchestra, one of the finest youth
orchestras in the US use a 7 ft Samick as their recital piano. It sounds OK.
And holds a tune. (I believe tuned monthly)
>Also, when you slide the music stand towards you it touches the fallboard
>making it fall on the keys.
Again, just my 2 cents - Only on the 5 ft. model.
Richard Galassini
Cunningham Piano Co.
215 438 3200
Trey Behan
>For an instrument that should be manufactured to
>tolerances of thousanths of an inch
Samick, which never made a claim of this sort, is a piano for people on a
budget. Forget micrometer standards; this is a decent product for those who
aren't willing to pay for the very best. Not all business suits are Armanis,
but they make a nice presentation for a lot less money.
Tom Croft
It's probably unsafe to base one's opinion of a piano on what school,
performing group, etc., uses it. Keep in mind that Samick is trying
hard to build a reputation and is known for giving away its pianos to
universities and other institutions to gain exposure (just as Apple
once gave computers to schools back in the early days). I'm not
saying this is definitely the case with the Philadelphia Youth
Orchestra, but there's a fairly high probability it is, and I would
check into it before assuming they hand picked this instrument from
among the many other choices available in the marketplace.
Tom
Mark Eisenman
Trey Behan wrote:
> >For an instrument that should be manufactured to
> >tolerances of thousanths of an inch
>
> Samick, which never made a claim of this sort, is a piano for people on a
> budget. Forget micrometer standards; this is a decent product for those who
> aren't willing to pay for the very best.
I'm sorry, but the action in an acoustic piano has to be designed and
manufactured to these standards, or the thing won't play with any efficiency.
What tolerance errors would you accept in the machining of cylinders and
pistons in an internal comustion engine?
> Not all business suits are Armanis,
> but they make a nice presentation for a lot less money.
Yes, your right, but the original point was ---why not buy a good instrument
instead of a bad one for the same money? The mistake I see over and over again
is the purchase of a poorly made grand (that is too small to begin with) over a
quality, well made, big upright. This mistake is often made in places that are
more concerned with cosmetic values, than musical or even investment values.
I just wish that people would stop wasting their money on bad grands because
they like the "look" of them. I, unfortunately have to play these instruments
as a professional and bite my tongue when asked what I think of the client's
piano. Don't get me wrong, I'm always thrilled to see ANY piano in a home, or
restaurant or club! But this is a warning to anyone who cares, to do your
homework ---- talk to a lot of people, especially people who have spent 25
years playing pianos of all descriptions, the good, the bad, the ugly. People
who don't care about brands, people like myself whose SELFISH desire is to play
a good instrument when they are hired to play at your place. If you've got
whatever $ amount, get the best INSTRUMENT (not a piece of furniture) for your
money ---and remember, professional piano players generally are NOT trying to
sell you a piano !! Talk to them, and to piano technicians! You might learn
something from a person that's going to deal with your decision for one day.
You've got to live with it for years!
Mark
Mark Mandell
At one time(and possibly even now)Samick had a German piano "scientist",
Klaus Fenner, as their official scale designer. Because he was(and is
if he's still alive)a veritable "Einstein" of pianos, the quality was
never that bad even if there exist the typical problems you associate
with low end instruments i.e., sticking keys, buzzes, etc.
Mark Mandell
Michael S
I heard from a dealer that Samick pianos have pressboard soundboards with
only spruce laminations to make them appear as solid spruce.
MS
Jay/Deb Mercier <mer...@runestone.net> wrote in article
<675gon$gvu$1...@news3.mr.net>...
KBrodee
>I heard from a dealer that Samick pianos have pressboard soundboards with
>only spruce laminations to make them appear as solid spruce.
Run from that dealer. Do they like to tell lies have the action pulled and look
at the soundboard yourself NO PRESSBOARD
John S. Gray
Sorry to jump in here.
(1) The United Church in Shelburne NS purchased a nearly-new SG-205,
because the local Yamaha dealer could only offer them a 5'7" with no
sostenuto for their budget. Samick did NOT donate anything. That
particular piano was used by the DuMaurier Jazz Festival and had been
prepped within a micron of every tolerance there was. As such it was quite
the bargain.
(2) Yes, the sustain pedal still squeaked after all was said & done. All
that was needed was to re-align the transverse lever under the keybed by
filling the screw holes and drilling new ones, so thet the pedal rod
squrely strikes the lever and the pad. The pedal is as quiet as any Yamaha
now.
(3) Fenner worked with Samick from about 1983 to 1987. His parting with
Samick was not entirely cordial, if what he told me is true. I would like
to hear Samick's version of the story. Fenner worked on a pile of pianos
for Samick, some of which were produced with little compromise, some
modeately compromised, and some were produced with hardly any Fenner
aspcts in them at all, yet they all got the IMPERIAL GERMAN SCALE sticker.
Fenner's Korean pianos, that HE liked: SU-110, SU-118, SU-127, SG-172,
SG-205 and the SG-275. All others had some things altered from his
designs.
This from memory, based on meetings with Fenner in Frankfurt at the Messe
in Feb. '87 and at the PTG convention in late '87 in Toronto.
JG
VOCE88
>I would like
>to hear Samick's version of the story. Fenner worked on a pile of pianos
>for Samick, some of which were produced with little compromise, some
>modeately compromised, and some were produced with hardly any Fenner
>aspcts in them at all, yet they all got the IMPERIAL GERMAN SCALE sticker.
>
>Fenner's Korean pianos, that HE liked: SU-110, SU-118, SU-127, SG-172,
>SG-205 and the SG-275. All others had some things altered from his
>designs.
>
>This from memory, based on meetings with Fenner in Frankfurt at the Messe
>in Feb. '87 and at the PTG convention in late '87 in Toronto.
>
>JG
John -
Good to see your post. I know a little of Samick's side - but that is for
another post.
The Phila. Youth Orchestra chose an SG 205 as a main recital instrument. It
was well prepped by our techs. and it is serviced bi- monthly. I have yet to
hear a complaint after 4 years and thay could not have purchased a 5'8" Yamaha
for less here.
I know of many other examples - but my point is the same as yours - a Yamaha
plays better (in general) out of the crate - but with some experienced prep
work - a piano like a Samick or Young Chang represents a MUCH better value.
Unfortunately, many dealers of many brands either can't or don't do this
prep.
Just my 2 cents.
Richard Galassini
Cunningham Piano Co
215 438 3200
John S. Gray
Oh thank you Richard !!!
First time in a while one of my posts to this newsgroup haven't been
treated as flame-bait.
An interesting follow-up to that SG-205 story has to do with a recent
refugee from some ex-Soviet republic in the caucasus area. She is about 20
years of age and looks like a fashion model, if her promo pics are
accurate. There is no question that she possesses a phenomenal technique
as a budding young virtuoso. She has gotten several little old ladies in
Nova Scotia to board her since she arrived here. She compained about being
asked to do a recital on the old Heintzman D (6ft.) where they can only
afford tunings every 14 months or so.
THEN she refused to even try out the SG205 which was down in that
immediate area because she `knew it was no good'.
Recently one of those little old ldies bought her an old Steinway L in
very rough shape, for $9000, which I felt was a bit steep considering the
condition and that it sounced like a bucket of nails. The girl loves it,
though...
;-)
JG
pTooner
Mark Eisenman wrote:
Yes, your right, but the original point was ---why not buy a good
instrument
> instead of a bad one for the same money? The mistake I see over and
> over again
> is the purchase of a poorly made grand (that is too small to begin
> with) over a
> quality, well made, big upright. This mistake is often made in places
> that are
> more concerned with cosmetic values, than musical or even investment
> values.
I had to go a long ways back to find the original point, but that was
not it! The original poster asked what was wrong with Samick pianos,
uprights in particular. I don't know where you came up with this cheap
grand versus expensive upright soapbox, but it didn't come from this
thread. Frankly, I don't know what you are talking about. I think you
must have run into a bad grand somewhere and it really stuck in your
craw. In over 40 years of playing professionally I can assure you I
have played some really bad instruments. On reflection, most of them had
their strings running vertically. Remember, anyone can make a good
instrument sound good. It takes a pro to make a bad one sound good!
Gerry
--
邢 唷��
James Clayton
pTooner wrote:
>
> Remember, anyone can make a good
> instrument sound good. It takes a pro to make a bad one sound good!
I dunno... this isn't something I'd want to hear from MY piano tuner,
that's for sure.
> I had to go a long ways back to find the original point, but that was
> not it! The original poster asked what was wrong with Samick pianos,
> uprights in particular. I don't know where you came up with this cheap
> grand versus expensive upright soapbox, but it didn't come from this
> thread. Frankly, I don't know what you are talking about. I think you
> must have run into a bad grand somewhere and it really stuck in your
> craw. In over 40 years of playing professionally I can assure you I
> have played some really bad instruments. On reflection, most of them had
> their strings running vertically.
Let me get this straight... you tell Mark Eisenmann that he must be
basing his opinion on his past experience, and then you "reflect" on
your own? That strikes me as hypocritical. I wouldn't care, except that
you were really condescending in your tone to Mark. (And before you
condescend to that particular person again, you might want to do some
homework on who that person is - I think you'll find he's no
"hobbyist".)
Furthermore, what might have been the "original" point of the thread has
clearly evolved. Any frequent NG reader knows that the threads quickly
digress, while the title remains the same. So the "original point" was
probably more recent than the beginning of the whole thread. (Especially
since the *new* subject includes "WAS: Samick pianos".)
Nitpickingly yours,
Jim Clayton
mu...@preshouse.org
Thanks!