[pianotech] Imagine

[rufy at rcn.com]

I don't understand the tone of self-righteousness behind this commentary. In
the Real World, often the choice comes down to this: to fix the thing
anyhow, so the customer can continue to play; or, to let them muddle on with
a REALLY awful (unrepaired) instrument. Explaining to them the situation and
prognosis is the most helpful thing you can do. THEY know their priorities
(e.g., what they can afford to spend) better than we do.

And by all means, encourage them to save up for a better instrument or
better repair. Explain to them the differences these could make in their
enjoyment of playing the piano.

A "junk repair" is not a junk repair if it (1) can get the customer through
the near future with the instrument; (2) will enhance their enjoyment and
encourage them to CONTINUE PLAYING THE PIANO; (3) does not preclude the
possibility of doing a "proper" repair in the future (assuming the
instrument as a whole warrants it); and (4) has a reasonable prospect of
succeeding, at least for a time.

It's usually worth trying a quick bridge repair. If the results are sub-par,
or if the repair fails after a while, you've lost nothing, and the customer
is only out a small amount of money.

I've done many epoxy bass bridge repairs. They almost always work just fine
(i.e., bring the bass tone up to what the rest of the piano sounds like)--
as long as the strings are not dead. But it was up to me to determine
beforehand if the strings are dead, and to explain this to the customer. A
new set of bass strings may not be warranted, or within the budget. An epoxy
bridge repair is a good opportunity to twist the (copper-wound) bass
strings, another "iffy" repair in many a technician's book, but another one
that almost always works to a significant degree. (It was also up to me to
know that if these are not wound with copper but with some soft ferrous
metal, twisting will not work.)

Another example would be: juicing the pinblock. I ask you: if the block has
reached the point where it needs to be replaced otherwise, what is the harm
in juicing it? You've lost NOTHING in terms of future possibilities, and the
customer is only out about the cost of a tuning (that's what I charge for
this job.) Again: it almost always works, usually for many, many years!
Sometimes it may be possible to re-pin the old block; in that case you have
yet another option to explain to the customer before going ahead. (Granted,
this requires experience and good judgment-- but that's what we're there
for, isn't it??) I often feel, for example, that re-pinning IS NOT a better
option than juicing-- if I judge that many strings may break in the process,
or if the pinblock has already been repinned with, say, 4/0 or larger pins,
and/or I have other reason to believe that the block has become so "punky"
that driving oversize pins into it will actually cause more damage, and
juicing will WORK BETTER AND LAST  LONGER; or if the piano, considered in
its entirety, is clearly on its deathbed.

Note that in any such instance I consider it my duty to explain the various
options and probable consequences of same. Juicing a pinblock after having
done this is an honorable course of action. (Which it would not be if I did
it to a piano of mine that I then intended to sell as "reconditioned" but
neglect to mention the juicing!!)

And by the way, there's juicing and there's juicing. There are various
products, materials, and methods, some of which are better than others.
Again, my experience and judgment come in here, because I've made it my
business to investigate, question, and experiment with these. In other
words: if I'm gonna juice a pinblock, it's damn well gonna be the best
juicing I can do!!

I'm using pinblock juicing as an example, but there are numerous other
situations where these kinds of considerations come up. Don't get me wrong:
there are MANY instances where I refuse to do any work at all on a piano,
because in my judgment it would be throwing money away for the customer, or
such a source of frustration FOR ME that I would be in danger of pulling out
what little hair I still have left on my head.

(Then there's that Wild Card: the emotional factor: The piano belonged to
Grandma. I grew up with that piano. My beloved (brother, daughter,
grandchild) played lessons on that piano. It was a focal part of the family
home. It was like a member of the family. Or: It is the symbol of all things
I hated to do as a child, but was forced to. It's ugly. It doesn't go with
the room. It takes up too much space, I'd prefer a smaller one. It belonged
to my S.O.B. ex-husband. Yikes. Here's where it helps to have some of the
skills of a psychotherapist.)

These are not easy kinds of judgments to make, but being able to make them
is part of the "professional pride and ethics" that enable me to fit the
work I propose with the true needs of the situation. This is, by the way, an
endlessly fascinating process, and the source of much of the interest that
has kept me going in this trade for over 35 years.

Technicians who specialize in high-quality work on high-quality pianos in
high-quality rebuilding shops may lose sight of some of this, in my opinion.
Those people have my utmost respect-- they do many wondrous kinds of things
that I'm not skilled at. However, there are some of us who don't really like
constant shop work, but do enjoy the (comparable) challenges of working out
in the "Real World". I take great pride in all the little tricks I have
learned that give EFFECTIVE, LONG-LASTING fixes at affordable cost, in
situations that might leave a rebuilder baffled. Improvisation is the
constant here. There's more than one way of making piano work interesting.
There's more than one way of giving the best possible value to the customer.

Joseph Giandalone, RPT

Conway, MA



From: Ron Nossaman <rnossaman at cox.net>
Reply-To: pianotech at ptg.org
Date: Thu, 11 Nov 2010 23:06:56 -0600
To: pianotech at ptg.org
Subject: [pianotech] Imagine



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


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