Dear Kendall, Greetings and welcome to the CAUT list! I am delighted that learn that you have pursued a career in both piano technology and as a professional pianist. This has been the path chosen by several of our graduates, and another piano student approached me this week about learning piano technology. I will write you soon to catch up on news from the UT Butler School of Music, which has changed a bit over the past 26 years, although many of the piano faculty that you knew are still here, in various states of functionality... Best regards, Charles >Dear Chris: > >(Sigh.) > >Must I join your club, and jump through all the hoops (RPT >requalification), and become a bona fide CAUT, (and stay away from >purely technical discussions!) in order to have anything of value to >contribute? > >Or can I by this point be considered to have achieved some degree of >stature in the technical and musical communities, in spite of the >apparent absence of such prima facie endorsements? (i.e. - haven't >I done enough already?) > >(On the CAUT info page it says that CAUT is a "community service", >and also that it is an "open list, allowing anyone to subscribe or >submit posts." Did I somehow misunderstand?) > >Can't I just be a guest for now? > >(It's okay, if my contributions are not pleasing or wanted I can go >somewhere else... ...sniff... ;-) ) > >~Kendall Ross Bean > >PianoFinders ><http://www.pianofinders.com/>www.pianofinders.com >e-mail: <mailto:kenbean at pianofinders.com>kenbean at pianofinders.com > >Connecting Pianos and People > >"The reward for jumping through hoops is... ...more hoops". > > >From: Chris Solliday [mailto:csolliday at rcn.com] >Sent: Thursday, July 10, 2008 4:26 AM >To: College and University Technicians >Subject: Re: [CAUT] Tuning Pin Questions - About me... Since you asked... > >Thank you Kendall, >Well now that we know how dangerous you are (and that you have such >illustrious beginnings, Charles Ball is one of the best and >brightest) let me recommend that you bite the bullet on the history >(I'm not sure that the bookkeeper forgot to send in the dues is a >legitimate excuse according to our bylaws & regulations) and rejoin >PTG and take the modern tests and become an active RPT. We need >intelligent and multi-talented folks like yourself in the >organization. I think you will find this to your advantage in the >marketplace as we make further enroads marketing the RPT. >BTW are you contracted or employed by a College or University? While >we encourage discussions of all types (and yours has been most >interesting) on the CAUT list, purely technical discussions are >probably best directed to the piano tech list. >Chris Solliday RPT >Lehigh University >Lafayette College >East Stroudsburg University > >----- Original Message ----- >From: <mailto:kenbean at pacbell.net>Kendall Ross Bean >To: <mailto:caut at ptg.org>'College and University Technicians' >Sent: Thursday, July 10, 2008 7:09 AM >Subject: Re: [CAUT] Tuning Pin Questions - About me... Since you asked... > >Chris~ > >Thanks for the compliment. Did you mean smart guy or wise guy?!! I >guess I put up a good front! Here's a little of the truth about me: > >Long story about PTG membership, but the gist of it is I joined back >around 1986 and passed the tests, and became a Registered Craftsman >member or RPT or RTT, (whatever they were calling it back then.) > >I was a member for several years (Golden Gate California Chapter >-Sid Stone) but somehow at some point the paying of the dues got >delegated to the bookkeeper for our PianoFinders business, and >unfortunately she didn't understand the importance of paying >the membership dues by the deadline. As a result, my membership got >dropped. We appealed, but at the time they didn't accept our excuse. >I just never got around to retaking the tests, or rejoining, (and I >was a bit peeved at their lack of sympathy for the situation, I >admit. I'm not going to mention any names...) > >Currently Karen (my wife and partner in the business) has the >membership (she's an associate member) so that's how we are still >associated with PTG and how I still receive the PTJ. I really do >enjoy reading the articles in the Journal. I also especially enjoy >reading the posts on the CAUT and pianotech listserves, and how >others solve the problems they encounter with pianos and >customers. Recently I felt a bit guilty about receiving all this >wonderful advice and knowledge and not giving anything back, so I >decided to start posting and at least pool my ignorance with the >wisdom of others. ;-) > >Our business, PianoFinders, we started in 1982, when we returned >here to California from school at UT Austin in Texas (I was a piano >performance major there working on my Masters and Doctoral degrees. >I knew Charles Ball there, he was one of the folks who inspired me >to get started in piano technology...) ...By 1989 or 1990 we had a >fairly large rebuilding shop, several employees, a piano showroom, >concert hall, advice hotline, and learning center in Concord, >California. (Mostly learning center - We were the ones doing most of >the learning!) (By the way, I also happen to be a concert pianist, >on the side...) > >Around 1996 we closed the huge facility in order to have a life and >spend more time with our kids, who were in their teens and needed us >more. We decided to go virtual and network and now we have a web >presence at <http://www.pianofinders.com>www.pianofinders.com . I >still have a fair sized rebuilding shop (attached to our home), with >lots of nice power toys -oops, I mean power tools, to play with, and >we network with a number of different rebuilding shops and >technicians throughout the country. We have gotten pianos in from, >and shipped them out to, places all over the U.S. (and sometimes >various places in the world.) > >I enjoy working on Steinways, Baldwins, Mason & Hamlins, >Chickerings, Yamahas, and Kawais, but also on Lesters, Conovers, >Steinerts, Wurlitzers, A.B.Chases, and (Chicago) Kimballs. (-mostly >grands, with a smattering of uprights.) I think they are all >interesting, in one way or another. I think a lot of the joy I find >in my work is seeing how all the different pianos were built, and >trying to restore them to the way they were originally (a challenge, >when often they have been substantially modified or altered >by various people over time.) Every piano is like an archeological >dig for me - many layers. (I'm into history!) One of the major >aspects of our business is appraising pianos. We have evolved an >appraisal process over the 25 or so years we have been in business >that we are quite pleased with, or, at least, we think it is >something to write home about! I enjoy going out to people's homes >and talking to them about their pianos, and telling them about their >pianos, (and often playing their pianos after I appraise, tune, or >service them.) I've seen just about everything (or so I think, until >the next appraisal or tuning.) > >Well, there it is in a nutshell. By the way, I'm still not that old >either (54 this year.) I don't really know about smart -- I >just know enough to be dangerous! > >Thanks for asking, (I realize this is probably a lot more than you >asked for... ...sorry...) > >~Kendall Ross Bean > >PianoFinders ><http://www.pianofinders.com/>www.pianofinders.com >e-mail: <mailto:kenbean at pianofinders.com>kenbean at pianofinders.com > >Connecting Pianos and People > > >From: Chris Solliday [mailto:csolliday at rcn.com] >Sent: Wednesday, July 09, 2008 5:42 PM >To: College and University Technicians >Subject: Re: [CAUT] Tuning Pin Questions - The truth about reverse >thread;and Steinway parts that "glow in the dark." > >Hi Kendall, >You seem like a smart guy, are you a PTG member yet? >Chris Solliday RPT > > > -- Charles Ball, RPT Head Piano Technician The Butler School of Music The University of Texas at Austin 512-471-0763 mailto:ckball at mail.utexas.edu -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... 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