Posted by Steve Marcus on July 04, 1999 at 23:10:21:
In Reply to: Re: Yamaha?? posted by Sean Chisham on July 04, 1999 at 22:38:41:
One explanation might be that Yamaha insists on using only their parent company name on all levels of musical instruments--from bottom of the line student axes through limited production/custom instruments. This is true of tubas and other musical instruments they offer; they do the same thing with pianos. Their method of marketing may be that a customer thinks they're getting the quality of the more expensive instument when they pay a fraction of the cost simply because it carries the same brand name. A manufacturer can "shoot themselves in their corporate foot" this way. Those who "bash" Yamaha could be basing their impression of Yamaha's entire production on the student horns with which they are familiar.
In contrast, other factories use different names on their "pro" or top quality instruments vs. economy instruments. Examples: Cerveny/Amati, B&S/VMI, Steinway/Boston, etc.