Fw: Birdcages

[John Ross]

From: "John Ross" <jrpiano@win.eastlink.ca>
To: <pianotech@ptg.org>
Sent: Saturday, December 22, 2001 5:47 AM
Subject: Re: Birdcages


> Hi Tony,
> I realize, that for a price, anything can be made, to work better.
> At the conventions I have attended, there has only been one class
> on 'birdcage' pianos that I can remember. It was filled to overflowing,
> and everyone was saying, at last, the birdcage will be explained. It was
> an English technician, from England giving the class. I can't remeber
> specifics, but after the class, no one had a better understanding of the
> piano than before. May'be it is just the lower end ones that I have seen.
> The pianos had been purchased, cheaply, with the intension of a child
> learning.
> To get them working at any level, of efficiency, would have cost more than
> they had paid
> for the piano, and they couldn't afford it. So the best answer I could
give
> people, who
> asked me, was, don't buy them. I suppose a lot of them may have had the
> wrong orientation of damper felt, I didn't check as I didn't know they had
> to be damped on the end grain.
> These birdcage over here, have not had anywork done on them for years, and
> arefor the most part down in pitch, a tone or a tone and a half.
> Last but not least, they were not made for theNorth American climate, with
> our extremes, of humidity. The pins are almost always loose. Even Yamaha,
up
> until the 70's, had a problem with loose pins, till they changed the
> moisture content of their wood in the manufacturing.
> So yes, I will still say to a client, NEVER buy a birdcage. I had just
given
> a superficial answer as to why, in the previous post. They are not worth
the
> money required to bring them up to standard, and a customer would be
better
> off buying one that can be brought up to standard for less money. Most of
> the clientel in my rural area, have a problem coming up with the monet to
> buy a piano in the first place, and don't need a major expense for repairs
> to make it work.
> They do have lovely cabinetry though, would make a lovely bar, or
bookcase:-)
Regards,
John M. Ross

>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Tony Caught" <caute@optusnet.com.au>
> To: <pianotech@ptg.org>
> Sent: Saturday, December 22, 2001 4:13 AM
> Subject: Re: Birdcages
>
>
> > John, are you saying that you can't regulate an overdamper piano and do
> the
> > minor work that may be needed to get a note working ?. Try new dampers
to
> > get it to dampen properly.
> >
> > Your the technical. It is your responsibility to make the piano play
> > properly, be it restringing, fixing a sticky note or replacing the
> dampers.
> > Don't say to the customer "buy a new piano" give customer an option. Its
> not
> > a perfect world but to say  NEVER   tut tut tut.
> >
> > Tony Caught
> >
> >
> > ----- Original Message -----
> > From: "John Ross" <jrpiano@win.eastlink.ca>
> > To: <pianotech@ptg.org>
> > Sent: Saturday, December 22, 2001 8:24 AM
> > Subject: Re: Birdcages
> >
> >
> > > Snip
> > > tunable and not even bad-sounding.  I told
> > > her to advertise it in the paper and it will be perfect for a
> > > beginner and give no trouble.
> > >
> > > I completely disagree, with the above statement, at least regarding
the
> > > majority of the "birdcage" pianos, that I have run accross.
> > > A beginner, needs a piano, that is up to pitch, and all the notes work
> > > with no apparent problem. The majority of the above mentioned pianos
> > > over here, leave much to be desired, in their ability, to damp
> > efficiently.
> > > I would NEVER recommend a birdcage for a beginner, unless, I was
wanting
> > > to discourage them, from sticking to piano lessons.
> > > Regards,
> > > John M. Ross
> > > jrpiano@win.eastlink.ca
> > >
> > >
> >
> >
>