On Thu, Nov 11, 2010 at 11:06 PM, Ron Nossaman <rnossaman at cox.net> wrote: > > I wonder about the current thread on split bridge repair. Is it worth > fixing or not? If so, wouldn't you make a new bridge? It's easier than > recapping in situ, and a real fix. The other options are, at best, lesser > approaches. I confess, I don't understand the attitude that the piano is > absolute junk, but the owner wants it fixed, and has no money, so the tech > should do the shabbiest repair possible to appease a customer who has no > idea what the choices made actually mean, as long as the tech can make a > buck doing it. Is there no line beyond which NO is the right answer? Can't > we decline to do junk repairs on junk pianos as a matter of professional > pride and ethics, or are these outdated concepts when a check is to be had? > I understand that we don't always have the luxury of high level choice, but > shouldn't we at least try to appear to be possessed of professional > standards to some degree? Or is it all just the chance to generate income, > regardless of how? How does this serve either us, or our profession in the > long run? I read all sorts of whining that we aren't taken seriously as true > professionals, and we don't get the pay we deserve as such, followed by > suggestions for repairs that anyone aspiring to professional status would, > or at least should, have nothing to do with. > > Baffled, long and often, > Ron N > Right! I mean, wasn't this piano a Grand brand? What else is wrong and what else will go wrong with it? The Grand brand is the only piano I will not even take time to look at. When every one I've seen is in the process of falling apart, why should I assume there will be one jewel in the midst of refuse? Loose tuning pins, cracked plates, separated pinblocks ... need we frustrate ourselves with repair attempts--cheap or otherwise? Or, rather just tell the owner that it's time to take it off life support? I say no for me. And I tell my customers no for their own benefit. I recently looked at an older Story & Clark console (35 year-old or thereabouts). It had been neglected -- that was obvious. Hadn't been tuned in 20+ years. The repetition was poor (which was why I was called, I'm sure). At first glance, many hammer return springs were broken. I told the customer before I began tuning what it would cost to repair that. Then, as I did a two-pass pitch raise to get the thing to A440, other problems manifested. Key bushings and balance holes too tight, key bushings that really needed replaced. a bit of rust on some of the key pins. Action badly needs regulated. I ended up telling the owner that she would be better served by looking for a piano that didn't require such costly repair. Choice of sinking $1,000+ to make a piano moderately playable --into a piano that never will amount to much-- or looking for a better piano for perhaps $750 or less that doesn't require anything for basic playability? I think the answer is clear. -- JF -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: <http://ptg.org/pipermail/pianotech.php/attachments/20101112/5845a51c/attachment.htm>
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