[pianotech] older spinets

[tnrwim at aol.com]

Les

I do basically the same thing you do. All we can do is inform the customer about the condition of the piano, and make the recommendation that they not spend any money on it. What they do with the information is beyond our control. Some customers will heed our advice, and get another piano. Some will call another tuner, who will take their money. 


Don't discount the Asian pianos. In my opinion, the ones that are now coming out of China and Indonesia are much better than the crap that came out of Memphis and North Carolina back in the '60's, '70's and '80's.  Unfortunately, it's those pianos that we're talking about. 

Wim



-----Original Message-----
From: Leslie Bartlett <l-bartlett at sbcglobal.net>
To: pianotech <pianotech at ptg.org>
Sent: Sun, Nov 27, 2011 12:56 pm
Subject: [pianotech] older spinets



I am wondering of there is a consensus at all on where one begins to draw the line at telling a person not to spend any money on a PSO?   I went to a home Saturday with an old spinet piano, three hammers worn almost to the wood, not tuned in 30 years, though using a guitar tuner, it only indicated about -25cents flat.  I was talking with him about the pros and cons in my own thinking when I noticed the pin block was beginning to separate from the frame, a modest separation all across the piano.  I strongly suggested he not spend any money on the piano, as fixing it and getting it to stability would cost far more than this piano was worth in any market, and with a little research if he wanted a used piano they could find one much more functional for less money than what it would cost to repair theirs.  (This could of course be worse if string broke after so long without tuning.)
 
In Houston, a thriving market with lots of pianos, and many many inexpensive Asian “pianos”, I have been discouraging spending anything but absolute minimum on the stuff that obviously is way past its prime, and patch up will add very little to it as an instrument.  I have found some older instruments I’ve begged with some success for folks to get rebuilt, but those are few.   With descriptions I’ve used, people have, without exception, thanked me for telling them what I did, but I am as concerned that people not waste their good money as I am in making it for myself (leaving me not in the “top earner’s” category).
 
Thoughts would be appreciated.
Thanks 
Les bartlett

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <https://www.moypiano.com/ptg/pianotech.php/attachments/20111127/8000dae6/attachment.htm>