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Comment by agluszak | Hacker News Reader

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agluszak·

That reminds me of this joke:

Me: I would like to buy a piano

Yamaha: Here you go

Me: Hmm, but I'd also like to buy a motorcycle... Do you know perhaps where I can find a good one?

Yamaha: You're not gonna believe this...

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I've always wondered what's the reason Yamaha is so big in music. Like I get that Japanese big conglomerates are known for being, well, conglomerates with tons of different product lines. But how did Yamaha (which is not really that big) become a big player in niches that are so different?

It's separate companies sharing a name and owner, but de facto independent one from another. E.g. Yamaha motors is completely split from yamaha (even tho they are the biggest shareholder).

I'd like to buy a smartphone

Samsung: here you go

I'd also like to buy a 155mm self propelled howitzer

Samsung: you're not going to believe this...

Also speakers, PAs, etc. and really nice saxophones.

Their guitars are sleeper greats too. They punch way above their weight class in the budget range, and their high end stuff really holds its own against Gibson, Fender, and even PRS.

Me: I need a rock solid router that can handle small business.

Yamaha: Here. You don't need any contract to download latest firmware/manual.

Huh! I had no idea Yamaha made routers.

I’ve pretty much sworn by Yamaha guitars my whole life. They absolutely make some of the best musical gear, IMHO. :)

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