Yamaha Pianos: Seasoned For Destination

What is "seasoning for destination"?

"Seasoning for Destination" is the name that is used for the drying process that  Yamaha Corporation uses for curing all woods that make a Yamaha piano. This "seasoning" is the critical step that makes the wood suitable to withstand the driest possible conditions that the piano may face. Wood is seasoned differently for each of Yamaha's three world markets: Asia, Europe and North America. North American pianos are seasoned to the lowest moisture content, enabling Yamaha pianos to hold up beautifully despite the dry air that is the result of the heating and air condition systems prevalent in the USA.

Why is this important?

Without this additional seasoning process, the piano wood would continue to dry out while in your home. This "drying out" can cause significant damage and even destroy critical parts within a period of a few years. The results can be devastating to your piano and costly to repair.

How does Yamaha know this?

Yamaha manufactured pianos in Japan and Asia for more than 50 years before it began exporting pianos to other continents. In the 1960's, Yamaha began exporting pianos to the United States and Canada. At that time, Yamaha's engineers were unaware of the level of dryness that existed in North American homes. As a result, some of the Yamaha pianos that were sold in the U.S. market in the early 60's developed dryness-related problems.

After researching the problem, the engineers discovered that North American homes are significantly dryer than those in Japan. This research led Yamaha to develop computer-controlled drying kilns, which when incorporated with other manufacturing procedures, created pianos that would be properly seasoned for the North American market.