I have read with interest the recent discussion about the market for
the instruments we enjoy.  Of course I wish the best for dealers and
restorers who make their living from these instruments, but I cannot
say I am sorry to see prices for some instruments tending toward the
low side.

I am presently a college student and cannot justify the purchase of an
instrument when I would need to move it between residence halls each
year and store it in the summer.  But when I have settled after
graduation and saved a little more money, I will be glad to take
advantage of the market while it is down.

Some have already touched on this, but I believe that one point about
many younger people cannot be underestimated.  Most of my peers, even
those I've managed to sucker into sharing a bit of my interest in
mechanical music, are often far more interested in the result of some
process rather than its inner workings.  Most of us have an iPhone, a
car, and a watch, to name three items, but very few people my age seem
to be interested in how those work.  When they break down, that's for
the people at Apple, the dealership, or the jewelry store to take care
of.

I was fortunate that my parents taught me to be interested in how
things work and to seek to fix them myself when I can.  But many
products today are not designed to facilitate that.  Even when the
products are, the salespeople might not be!  I purchased a fairly
nice watch for about $100 about two years ago.  When it recently
stopped ticking and I wasn't sure how to repair it, I took it to the
store and asked whether they could fix it.  The lady behind the counter
expressed great surprise that I would seek to repair "an old watch"
when I could buy a new one for "just $100"!

Incidentally, I only this month bought an iPhone and I prefer to use my
bicycle and public transportation, but I'm certainly known as the
dinosaur in my group of friends.

When it comes to a player piano, something that is not even a part of
everyday life for someone my age, there is very little interest in how
it works.  I was invited to dinner at a friend's house some time ago,
and when the conversation drifted to our hobbies and I mentioned
mechanical music, he excitedly showed me his family's digital piano.
It was a lovely piano with fine tone, and we enjoyed its music for
maybe twenmty minutes.  I then said that a digital piano operated
differently from the pianos I usually encounter, and I started to
explain, but could tell I had lost his interest.  "At the end of the
day, the piano plays itself, right?" he asked.  Well, of course not,
but this is the reality of the world in which the market for our
instruments exist.

TJ Fisher
Lincoln, NH (for the summer)