practice room benches

[Robert A. Murphy]

Eric & list,

Yes, I would be interested in what you and Jansen conclude.  Last year we 
bought a couple dozen Petite Artist benches for the locked piano practice 
rooms and have been very happy with them (except for the ones that 
"disappear" every once in a while).

One adjustment we've made though, was in shortening the legs by about 1 
1/2", as folks were complaining they wouldn't go low enough.  Indeed, when 
placed alongside the full-sized artist bench, they do come up tall.

Thanks,
Robert Murphy
Piano Technician
Michigan State University


At 11:31 AM 3/5/01 -0500, you wrote:
>Hi All,
>
>I just finished speaking with the people at Jansen Benches about the
>possibility of them producing and marketing an adjustable bench specifically
>designed for institutional use. We have many artist benches here, and lots
>of them are assigned to the (locked) piano-major practice rooms. They
>generally hold up pretty well and we have a spare-parts repair kit with
>spare shoulder bolts, bushings, etc. which keeps them going even longer. The
>problem we have here is mainly with the upholstery. The vinyl rips, buttons
>pop out, etc., and to get the thing re-upholstered is a major pain and
>expense. What I suggested was a strong, simple, adjustable bench with a
>slightly padded top that could be easily removed and re-upholstered or
>replaced. It would be similar to what they call their "petite" artist bench.
>I know practice room benches have a hard life, but adjustable benches are
>really needed in the piano major rooms to accommodate all the different size
>people and techniques.
>
>How many of you out there would be interested in such a bench? We are going
>to be purchasing a bunch of benches in the near future and I would sure like
>to be able to get benches that will last longer and be easier to maintain. I
>hate dealing with benches, so anything that will make my life easier in that
>arena is attractive to me.
>
>I told the people at Jansen that I would poll the caut list to see if there
>was interest in such a product, and if there is a good enough response, they
>will consider designing and producing a bench more suited to our needs.
>
>So...waddaya think??
>
>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>Eric Wolfley, RPT
>Head Piano Technician
>Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music
>University of Cincinnati
>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~