At 02:29 PM 2/8/96 -0700, you wrote: > In a conversation with the Director of the School of Music yesterday, >an interesting topic came up in our discussion of what we were going to be >able to do about pianos when we move into our new building (under construction). We're evidently not going to have the money to buy a "lot" of new pianos, >so he was asking me about rebuilding costs, mainly for practice rooms and >teacher's studios (not piano teachers). The thought occurred to me that if >enough money could be found to rebuild 4-6 pianos a year, could we not use >that same money and hire another technician/rebuilder and be able to do more >than that in a year. By rebuilding, in this case, I'm referring to plate, >soundboard refinishing, new pinblock, dampers and action work and depending >on money, perhaps new keyboards. > My question to you more experienced rebuilders, is this a reasonable >thought? Avery, Having faced very much the same issues in several different locations, I think a terraced approach, such as you suggest makes a great deal of sense. First, it will take the immediate load off of you and whomever, to simply have work done outside. The level of work you suggest makes for a good division between inside and outside service. Second, it sounds as if you and your Dean are looking realistically at the development of your inventory. This makes good strategic sense. These days, acquisition dollars are difficult to come by. A carefully thought through plan for replacment/refurbishment is a must. Steinway dealers used to use a very good plan (developed by Ed Bezursik), which predicted various kinds of repair/replacement strategies; probably the local dealer has a copy. It is time consuming, but well worth the effort if for no other reason than it gives a music administrator numbers, charts and graphs that will quicken the heart of the most difficult bean counter. Third, another way in which taking your time for planning purposes now will pay off is in the area of "and what, exactly, is the second person going to do?" I do not intend this glibly. Having worked in situations where the second position was nebulously, or improperly, defined, I can relate that my experience as both first and second chair has been mixed. Let me rephrase the issue in this way - Will you get more of the real support you need for what you really need to do by hiring a rebuilder? Or, will your (and the institution's) better interest be served by either a second "general" technician and contracted out rebuilding, or by some other combination of contracted work. From an administrative point of view, the second full/part-time "position" is easy to translate into additional general technical work. In that case, rebuilding suffers or stops all together, while the expectation continues that "well, and what were they hired for to begin with." An excellent guide is the set of Guidelines developed by Tom McNeil (et al) several years ago. The Guild used to have copies available. While one could argue about certain aspects of the document, it is overall very well thought out, and provides an official touchstone for reference to administrators. It seems to me that of particular value to you would be the areas concerned with staffing formulae. Basically, if you have x pianos in y shape in z environment with aa expectation of performance you need... - Well, you get the idea. The Guidelines present a sort of Cartesian perfect world situation, but it works. I don't want to burn a lot of valuable space, but this is an important, and often ill addressed set of issues. All of us are up against these things at different times. Finally, I would be remiss if I did not strongly urge you to contact Peter Mohr (New England Classic Piano Restorations), 603-624-2077. I have known Peter for many years, and can recommend his work without reservation. We have a strong restoration program at the Colburn School (for which I am most gratefull), which combines work performed by local technicians as well as work done by Peter and his crew. He has recently completed a D and a long A for us. Both have received rave reviews from a faculty most noted for not noting anything. The instruments arrived needing tuning and the normally expected followup service, but were both in instructional use the day after delivery. He is working with us on other projects, each of which requires different specifications; and he is even accomodating of some of my more old fashioned views of forefinishing and action work. Sorry for the length. If I may be of any further help, please drop me a note. Best, Horace _________________________________________________________________________ Horace Greeley, RPT 14 Pyxie Lane Piano Technician & Consultant San Carlos, CA 94070-1506 The Colburn School of Performing Arts 415.592.6620 Los Angeles, CA horace@compadept.com _________________________________________________________________________
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