In the Shop with Bob Moog: A Personal Account
From 1986 to 1988, I worked with electronic-music pioneer Robert Moog (rhymes with vogue), custom-building experimental keyboard instruments. In 1993, I wrote this account of our work together; this is the first publication of the unabridged version.
Piano Brand Ratings
Whenever I make changes to Piano Buyer’s “A Map of the Market for New Pianos” — the so-called Ratings Chart — I’m inevitably besieged by questions, comments, and complaints. Here, I’d like to go into a bit more depth about what the Map represents and how it’s formulated.
How to Determine the Value of a Used Piano
The purpose of this article is to comment on and clarify the information in Piano Buyer on determining the value of a used piano. (The Piano Buyer article has since been revised to include these comments.)
“Made in Germany”
The Bundesverband Klavier (BVK) — the German piano manufacturers’ association — has created a new “Made in Germany” certificate of quality to distinguish pianos that are 100% made in Germany from those that are claimed to be but are not.
New Federal and State Ivory Regulations and Pianos
No new pianos have contained ivory since the 1980s. Nonetheless, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has proposed new regulations regarding ivory that will affect the sale and transportation of used pianos with ivory keytops.
Ivory Regulations Ban Update
This past summer, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced its proposed revisions to rules regarding the sale of objects containing ivory in interstate or foreign commerce.