<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN"> <HTML><HEAD> <META http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=us-ascii"> <META content="MSHTML 6.00.2900.3354" name=GENERATOR> <STYLE></STYLE> </HEAD> <BODY bgColor=#ffffff> <DIV dir=ltr align=left><SPAN class=629434808-10072008><FONT face=Arial size=2>Chris~</FONT></SPAN></DIV> <DIV dir=ltr align=left><SPAN class=629434808-10072008><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT></SPAN> </DIV> <DIV dir=ltr align=left><SPAN class=629434808-10072008><FONT face=Arial size=2>Thanks for the compliment. Did you mean smart guy or wise guy?!! I guess I put up a good front! Here's a <EM>little</EM> of the truth about me:</FONT></SPAN></DIV> <DIV dir=ltr align=left><SPAN class=629434808-10072008><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT></SPAN> </DIV> <DIV dir=ltr align=left><SPAN class=629434808-10072008><FONT face=Arial size=2>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.) </FONT></SPAN></DIV> <DIV dir=ltr align=left><SPAN class=629434808-10072008><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT></SPAN> </DIV> <DIV dir=ltr align=left><SPAN class=629434808-10072008><FONT face=Arial size=2>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...)</FONT></SPAN></DIV> <DIV dir=ltr align=left><SPAN class=629434808-10072008><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT></SPAN> </DIV> <DIV dir=ltr align=left><SPAN class=629434808-10072008><FONT face=Arial size=2>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 <EM>Journal</EM>.</FONT> <FONT face=Arial size=2>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. ;-)  </FONT></SPAN></DIV> <DIV dir=ltr align=left><SPAN class=629434808-10072008><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT></SPAN> </DIV> <DIV dir=ltr align=left><SPAN class=629434808-10072008><FONT face=Arial size=2>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...)</FONT></SPAN></DIV> <DIV dir=ltr align=left><SPAN class=629434808-10072008><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT></SPAN> </DIV> <DIV dir=ltr align=left><SPAN class=629434808-10072008><FONT face=Arial size=2>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 <A href="http://www.pianofinders.com"><FONT color=#000000>www.pianofinders.com</FONT></A> . 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.) </FONT></SPAN></DIV> <DIV dir=ltr align=left><SPAN class=629434808-10072008><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT></SPAN> </DIV> <DIV dir=ltr align=left><SPAN class=629434808-10072008><FONT face=Arial size=2>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. </FONT></SPAN><SPAN class=629434808-10072008><FONT face=Arial size=2>(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.)</FONT></SPAN></DIV> <DIV dir=ltr align=left><SPAN class=629434808-10072008><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT></SPAN> </DIV> <DIV dir=ltr align=left><SPAN class=629434808-10072008><FONT face=Arial size=2>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 <EM>smart</EM> --  I just know enough to be dangerous! </FONT></SPAN></DIV> <DIV dir=ltr align=left><SPAN class=629434808-10072008><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT></SPAN> </DIV> <DIV dir=ltr align=left><SPAN class=629434808-10072008><FONT face=Arial size=2>Thanks for asking,  (I realize this is probably a lot more than you asked for... ...sorry...)</FONT></SPAN></DIV> <DIV dir=ltr align=left><SPAN class=629434808-10072008><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT></SPAN> </DIV> <DIV dir=ltr align=left><SPAN class=629434808-10072008><FONT face=Arial size=2>~Kendall Ross Bean</FONT></SPAN></DIV> <DIV dir=ltr align=left><SPAN class=629434808-10072008><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2></FONT></SPAN> </DIV> <DIV dir=ltr align=left><SPAN class=629434808-10072008> <DIV align=left> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN class=533361603-16112007>PianoFinders</SPAN></FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN class=533361603-16112007><A title=http://www.pianofinders.com href="http://www.pianofinders.com/">www.pianofinders.com</A></SPAN></FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN class=533361603-16112007>e-mail: <A title=mailto:kenbean@pianofinders.com href="mailto:kenbean@pianofinders.com">kenbean@pianofinders.com</A></SPAN></FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN class=533361603-16112007></SPAN></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2><SPAN class=533361603-16112007><EM>Connecting Pianos and People</EM></SPAN></FONT></DIV></DIV></SPAN></DIV><BR> <DIV class=OutlookMessageHeader lang=en-us dir=ltr align=left> <HR tabIndex=-1> <FONT face=Tahoma size=2><B>From:</B> Chris Solliday [mailto:csolliday@rcn.com] <BR><B>Sent:</B> Wednesday, July 09, 2008 5:42 PM<BR><B>To:</B> College and University Technicians<BR><B>Subject:</B> Re: [CAUT] Tuning Pin Questions - The truth about reverse thread;and Steinway parts that "glow in the dark."<BR></FONT><BR></DIV> <DIV></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Hi Kendall,</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>You seem like a smart guy, are you a PTG member yet?</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Chris Solliday RPT</FONT></DIV> <BLOCKQUOTE dir=ltr style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px"> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><FONT color=#0000ff size=2><SPAN class=533361603-16112007><FONT size=3><FONT color=#000000><FONT face="Times New Roman"></FONT><BR></FONT></FONT></SPAN></FONT></DIV> <DIV> </DIV></BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>