Concert Grand Trucks

[Otto Keyes]

----- Original Message -----
From: "James A Busby" <jab367@email.byu.edu>
To: "College and University Technicians" <caut@ptg.org>
Sent: Friday, March 28, 2003 10:02 AM
Subject: Re: Concert Grand Trucks


> Forgive me for asking, but why do you want a D on a truck? Do you really
want
> any Joe Blow to be able to move it?

Because, wanted or not, Joe Blow will move it.  Any multi-purpose hall will
have to have the piano moved -- even for a chamber concert.  I may not like
the amount of moving our pianos get, but we've got over 45 concerts &
recitals in the next 6 weeks, ranging from piccolo to percussion to piano, &
everything in between.  The pianos go in & out through doors just barely
wider than the instrument.  I suspect many of us are in the same boat here.

Years ago, while service mgr. for Hendricks (Steinway dlr. at the time) in
Chicago, I went to tune a C&A piano we had rented to a college for their
concert series.  I had checked it over & tuned it just before leaving the
shop, so it should have been in good shape.  (Night Barbie & I had our first
date, by the way.)  To my surprise it was quite flat & pretty badly out of
tune.  On examining the piano I found the rear leg on backwards (how they
accomplished that I'll never know).  Turned out they had to use the stage
for something else after the rehearsal, so rolled the piano off stage --
over a metal lip.  Yeah, you get the picture -- 2 out of 3 ain't bad.
Fortunately, it seems the leg had broken the fall so it didn't break the
plate, but then they put the leg on backwards.  Nobody bothered to inform us
of this little incident, however.  It was in there solid, so I didn't want
to chance taking the leg off to turn it around since I didn't have time to
get into any major repair, or bring in another piano, so we got it into
position & "nailed to the floor" with threats of dire consequences should
they attempt to move it.  Then I got it into whatever semblance of tuning I
could in the time I had left & it made it through the concert.  Don't
remember whether the pianist was aware of all this, or even who it was.  I
think not -- I would have remembered the anxiety & anguished experssion.
Had to replace the key plates & fill in the big gouge on the leg where the
case landed on it, but other than a few extra tunings, the piano suffered no
ill effects.

Suffice to say -- Joe Blow will move it!!

Otto