clothing

[Farrell]

While I may consider many old lower quality pianos PSOs, I still like them. I just like to call 'em as I see 'em. I would have done just what you did for this Acrosonic, although I might not write about it with such a nasty tone.

A very established technician in Tampa referred an old upright owner to me a couple weeks ago. He has done this several times. I believe he has chosen to not work on old uprights. That is his prerogative. I don't see any reason to berate him for it. I don't think he is stuck up either. Seems to be a pretty nice guy to me. Heck, I think it is best for him - and for me! This last one, after 20 minutes of trying to talk the lady into junking the piano, we decided to sink $900 bucks into it (regulation, repining, few repairs, tuning, pitch raising, etc.).

I love old worn-out uprights. I love junky spinets. I make more good-sized paychecks on them. But so many of them are still PSOs (or worse!).

Terry Farrell
  
----- Original Message ----- 
From: <Billbrpt@AOL.COM>
To: <pianotech@ptg.org>
Sent: Saturday, June 22, 2002 1:05 PM
Subject: Re: clothing


> In a message dated 6/21/02 9:33:27 PM Central Daylight Time, lesher@jdweb.com 
> (Cliff Lesher) writes:
> 
> 
> > While servicing a 1953 Acrosonic on Tuesday, I came across a pamphlet that 
> > Baldwin apparently included with the piano.  In it there was section about 
> > service, tuning and how to choose a technician.  The accompanying picture 
> > (drawing) showed a tuner at someone's door wearing a double-breasted suit, 
> > .
> 
> Well, according to some, if not most of the good ol' boys on this list who 
> write nice, short posts about "PSO's" and such, you were doing the 
> impossible.  Don't you *know* that an Acrosonic isn't really a piano?  Don't 
> you *know* that it has a "poor scale" and literally *can't* be tuned?!!!
> 
> I'm with you, though, I dress professionally and while I was in my hot 
> weather attire yesterday, short sleeved white shirt and black shorts, I spent 
> 4 hours on an Acrosonic which others had turned down as beneath their dignity 
> as Reverse Well tunin' Tooners.  I raised the pitch 50 cents, cleaned it all 
> out, filed the hammers and sanded the crust off the dampers, tightened the 
> flanges, aligned the hammers, adjusted blow distance, capstans, letoff and 
> touched up the key level, lubricated and fine tuned.  I played and sand a 
> couple of songs, had dinner with the couple and today I have check for $400 
> to deposit.
> 
> Yes, I'm pointing the finger at all the others who are too good to stoop to 
> this low level just so I don't have to think about what a tragically pathetic 
> existence I lead.  I was unethical about it too.  I didn't give them a choice 
> of temperament and never explained a word about it.  They were under the 
> assumption, of course that I tuned in ET but I fooled them into falling for 
> some cockamamie idea that I just went around one day and made up without 
> knowing anything about what I was doing.
> 
> There oughta be a *law* against guys like me!
> 
> Bill Bremmer RPT
> Madison, Wisconsin
>  <A HREF="http://www.billbremmer.com/">Click here: -=w w w . b i l l b r e m m e r . c o m =-</A> 
>