Showing posts with label Torakusu Yamaha. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Torakusu Yamaha. Show all posts

Wednesday 22 October 2014

Yamaha Serial Nos.


Year
Serial No.
Year
Serial No.
1920
2100
1970
978000
1930
10163
1972
1317000
1940
31900
1974
1734000
1942
35600
1976
2144000
1944
38000
1978
2583000
1946
39250
1980
3001000
1948
44087
1982
3464000
1950
44200
1984
3832000
1952
51621
1986
4157000
1954
57000
1988
4492000
1956
70000
1990
4811000
1958
89000
1992
5072000
1960
122000
1994
5292000
1962
188000
1996
5466000
1964
298000
1998
5579000
1966
489000
2000
5868000
1968
689000
2002
5978000

These serial numbers can be used only as a reference point.
An Exact date does not make a material difference to an assessment of a piano - a year or so out 120 years ago really is neither here more there.

The idea that 100% accuracy for all piano makers over a century ago is an interesting thought - but considering that all record keeping would be hand-written and kept in large ledger books, inaccuracies are likely. These records will be as reliable as the clerks whose job it was to keep them. The digital age of barcodes and scanned labels was still in the realm of science fiction. So we have to be content with our best guess numbers.

Back to the Piano Atlas

Wednesday 1 January 2014

Yamaha Pianos

The piano industry in Japan was slow to gather momentum during the later years of the 19th century. Early development of the piano was very much a European affair. At the Paris Exposition in 1878 a Japanese square piano (not a Yamaha) was exhibited. In 1880 Torakusu Yamaha began making Western musical instruments.

Beginning by building an organ, and confident enough of its qualities, he carried it over the mountains of Hakone to the Music Institute for their inspection and approval. Perhaps unkindly, the organ was harshly criticised for its poor tuning. This set-back only spurred Tarasuku on to further studies. Like any self-respecting musical instrument maker, he began studying music theory and tuning!

After much hard work, he mastered the basics and was able to apply his newly acquired knowledge and deeper understanding to making his western musical instruments.

Piano tuners are almost duty bound to approve of Yamaha's using tuning forks in their logo - after all, it emphasises the fundamental importance of tuning!

The 3 tuning forks of the Yamaha Logo represent the 3 pillars of the business - technology, production and sales. They also symbolise the essential elements of music: melody, harmony and rhythm.

He began production of pianos in 1900 and by 1910 he was making 600 pianos per year. The 20th century threw up many challenges for the piano industry - especially in Japan. Yamaha lost a factory to fire in 1922 and and office to an earthquake in 1923. The second world war was no less devastating. After the war, Yamaha restarted production with the benefit of casting their own metal frames.

The constant quest for product improvement has borne fruit in Yamaha's unquestionable reputation for consistency and a rugged reliability. Their pianos have become an industry bench-mark standard.


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