Is it just me or ...

[Farrell]

Boy, I've really been trounced on this one. I really don't mind servicing these pianos. I was just stating my observations. The odd string noises is only a small part of the deficiencies I seem to notice on these pianos. I also described them as falling apart, misaligned, noisy. I find many of them have an excessive amount of action noise, and the actions seem to be in a condition reminiscent of a 90-year old upright (very poor alignment, loose action parts for one reason or another) after only 30 or 40 years. Hey, maybe that's only because the owners like them so much they play the heck out of them.

But please, these are just my observations. And I was only answering a previous post. I got trounced a while back for expressing some negative thoughts regarding these fine pianos. I guess I should have learned that time. Perhaps in time I will come across a number of these workhorse examples and form a different opinion.

I'll go crawl back into my hole now.

Terry Farrell
  
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Dave Bunch" <pdtek@mchsi.com>
To: <pianotech@ptg.org>
Sent: Wednesday, July 17, 2002 10:15 PM
Subject: Re: Is it just me or ...


> >miserable little PSOs.
> 
> >When people inquire about buying a used piano, this is one that I regularly
> identify as often a poor choice.
> 
> >Just calling a spade a spade.
> 
> >Terry Farrell
> 
> 
> I would like to think that this attitude is just from inexperience, since it
> seems like a lot of new tuners seem to get a big kick from voicing their
> disdain for pianos they feel are not worthy of their time or expertise. I
> don't know how someone can properly service a piano that they have such
> contempt for.
> 
> The Baldwin Hamilton is a good, sturdy piano that holds up better than most,
> especially in a school or church setting. They may not be as easy to tune as
> a P-22 because the tone is not as clean. Ironically though, this faint
> falseness contributes to a warmth of tone that many Asian pianos do not have
> and is the reason many players will choose the Baldwin.
> 
> I have many Baldwin Hamiltons on my client list and rank them higher in
> quality than the majority of pianos I deal with day to day. As for the
> pianos that I feel are of lesser quality, I take it as a challenge to get
> the best performance from them as the they are able to give, and I try to
> keep in mind that even if I'm not in love with the piano, many times the
> owner is. I think it is safe to say that any customer would like their tuner
> to approach their piano with that attitude.
> 
> Dave Bunch
> 
> 
>