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Dave, <br>
As the Director of Keyboard Maintenance at Northwestern University, it
actually states in my job description that I have the authority to
make determinations concerning the disposition of the piano
inventory. The decision to rebuild or sell a piano involves a high
degree of technical knowledge and experience; and while I often involve
faculty in this sort of planning, I am the one who makes the final
determination. <br>
<br>
Before making any decisions about our inventory, it was necessary to
determine what the perfect inventory would be. I asked faculty
members to imagine that all the pianos in the School of Music had to be
removed, and asked them what they would put in the building if MONEY WAS
NOT A CONSIDERATION. Next, I wrote a strategic plan for
obtaining this "perfect inventory" which involved a
program of rebuilding older instruments and purchasing new ones to the
tune of $2.6 million.<br>
<br>
No one has given me the $ 2.6 million, but I did come out of all this
with a very clear idea of what we are trying to achieve, and all the
individual decisions about rebuilding or selling an instrument can be
made based on this over-all goal. We are keeping all the old
Steinway grands and will rebuild and remanufacture them as a renewable
resource. It is always necessary to freshen the inventory with new
instruments, and it's a lot easier to raise funds to buy a new
Steinway. There's no glory in buying the university a new set of
hammers, shanks & flanges!<br>
<br>
Ken Eschete<br>
Northwestern University<br>
<br>
<br>
<blockquote type=cite cite>How do you all decide on rebuilding or trading
pianos? We have 30 very rebuildable Steinways and my preference
(since it is more cost effective) is to rebuild and keep them
going. Sometimes pianists just like getting a "new" piano
- justified or not. Currently they are trying to raise money for a
new instrument, and they are targeting the worst looking instrument to
replace. Other than the looks it's really OK. <br>
<br>
What criterion do you use for the rebuild/trade decision?<br>
<br>
dave</blockquote><br>
<br>
<br>
<div>Kenneth P. Eschete</div>
<div>Northwestern University, Evanston, IL. USA</div>
<div>k-eschete@nwu.edu</div>
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