Retro Audio Museum

Today in the Retro Audio Museum inbox: I almost became a proud owner of a “free” Yamaha baby grand piano… in Groningen… from a widow moving to Arkansas… because of course.
It started very politely: a widow wanted to donate a nearly-new Yamaha GC1 grand piano to my museum, valued at 20,000 euros. Very emotional story. Very generous offer. Very… familiar.
A quick check revealed the twist:
The piano photos have been circulating online for years
The piano is mysteriously in storage at the shipping company.
A shipping company is ready to “deliver anywhere.”
And somewhere down the line, magic transport fees usually appear…
And yes, we can communicate with a widow via email only, as she is in the process of relocation and does not use any telephone anymore at all.
Lesson of the day:
If a €20,000 piano is “free” and waiting just for you… It’s probably not waiting for you.
The only thing getting tuned in these stories is your bank account.
Stay alert, stay skeptical, and if a deal sounds like a dream — check if it comes with a hidden alarm clock.

The TRQ-737 appeared in the 1969 generation of Hitachi reel-to-reel recorders, positioned above the earlier TRQ-707 (1968) and just before the TRQ-730D and TRQ-777 (1970).

Typical Hitachi catalogue line (1968-1970) looked like:
TRQ-707 — stereo deck (1968)
TRQ-737 — upgraded stereo recorder (1969)
TRQ-730D — improved specs (1970)
TRQ-777 — auto-reverse model (1970)

So the TRQ-737 was basically the top portable stereo suitcase recorder right before the advent of auto-reverse.

The Hitachi TRQ-737 has the “piano-style” transport keys. You feel and hear a clear “click” when engaging a function. It is easy to operate without looking at the panel and allows one-handed operation, which is convenient. The piano-key system disappeared in the mid-1970s and was replaced by “logic-control” transports.

The tape recorder's frequency response is from 30 Hz to 18 kHz. TRQ-737 has a built-in stereo amplifier with 6 watts per channel and was supplied with two 6-inch speakers (currently missing from my collection).