practice room benches

[Wolfley, Eric (WOLFLEEL)]

Hi All,

I just finished speaking with the people at Jansen Benches about the
possibility of them producing and marketing an adjustable bench specifically
designed for institutional use. We have many artist benches here, and lots
of them are assigned to the (locked) piano-major practice rooms. They
generally hold up pretty well and we have a spare-parts repair kit with
spare shoulder bolts, bushings, etc. which keeps them going even longer. The
problem we have here is mainly with the upholstery. The vinyl rips, buttons
pop out, etc., and to get the thing re-upholstered is a major pain and
expense. What I suggested was a strong, simple, adjustable bench with a
slightly padded top that could be easily removed and re-upholstered or
replaced. It would be similar to what they call their "petite" artist bench.
I know practice room benches have a hard life, but adjustable benches are
really needed in the piano major rooms to accommodate all the different size
people and techniques. 

How many of you out there would be interested in such a bench? We are going
to be purchasing a bunch of benches in the near future and I would sure like
to be able to get benches that will last longer and be easier to maintain. I
hate dealing with benches, so anything that will make my life easier in that
arena is attractive to me.

I told the people at Jansen that I would poll the caut list to see if there
was interest in such a product, and if there is a good enough response, they
will consider designing and producing a bench more suited to our needs. 

So...waddaya think??

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Eric Wolfley, RPT
Head Piano Technician
Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music
University of Cincinnati
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~