I Quit! (long)

[The Pianolists]

Andy Taylor wrote, in digest #1069:

>I am going to unsubscribe from this group!
>
>You know, the pianotech list, hasn't made me feel very welcome. I have tried
>to bring several topics up for discussion, just to be totally ignored. if
>that is the way the group feels, I won't bother you again.

And further on:

>I joined the list, to be educated and maybe be able to maybe help someone
>with a servicing problem If I was able. The absolute silence to my postings
>tells me that my participation is not wanted nor needed.......... Ok I can
>take a hint!


Well Andy, I just searched my archives back to last year, and this is what
I found:

In digest 1020, 8/6/98 you told the horror story about the Monarch player,
sold by you and than unmaintained by the owner in which the bridge
collapsed years later and stated that you don't feel responsible, under the
circumstances.

You received several replies (posted to the list) agreeing that any twit
who fails to have his piano serviced for years on end, then suddenly has it
yanked _above_ standard pitch, has no cause to come back at you on account
of the failed bridge.

In Digest 1029, 8/13/98, you posted that you were seeking better quality
upright pianos, preferably in Missouri/Illinois. You also announced your
retrofit player stack design and finished with "I will take suggestions".

If you received no replies, then I would assume that no one had a piano to
sell, and as regards the retrofit player, it sounded as though you knew
what you were doing and that no one had any better suggestions to post to
the list. 

Bear in mind Andy, that only a very tiny percentage of the subscribers to
pianotech-digest are technicians who do player work. As you know, to do it
well takes specialized knowledge and tools not all piano technicians have,
and interests that not all share.

As it happens, I have been a player tech for 40+ years, and that post
sounded to me as though you knew what you were doing, so I couldn't think
of anything I needed to post to you privately, or to this list that I
thought would be of general enough interest.

In digest 1031, 8/13/98, you posted that it is necessary to re-bush wippens
in upright players and other pianos where proper replacements are not
available. I saw no disagreement, so I imagine that everyone agreed with you.

In digest 1058, 8/23/98, you posted a note about having to wait for bass
strings because of the UPS strike, and that having had the rest of the
piano already strung and at pitch seemed to have no deleterious effect.
While there may not have been any postings addressed to you personally
about it, there was a lot of discussion about the pros and cons of leaving
the balance of the piano (any piano) under tension with the bass wires
removed. The general consensus seemed to be that some do it one way, some
do it another.

In digest 1067, 8/27/98, you announced that pictures detailing the
restoration of one of your Foster pianos were now on your website.

In digest 1069, 8/27/98, you wrote your "I Quit!" note. There were a few
replies (thus far) to that.

You said then that you joined the list to be educated and maybe be able to
help someone with a servicing problem if you are able.

That sounds like the right reason to join this list, and is the very reason
I subscribed some time ago. I have learned a tremendous amount from reading
the digests daily and from searching the archives. There are no books
anywhere which contain even 1/1000 of 1% of the accumulated knowledge which
is posted here in the space of a year, or even a month.

If I have a piano problem that I can't figure out, you can bet that I'll
post to this list, and I would bet money that several of these great folks
would bend over backwards to offer advice. I've seen them do it many times,
and not generally to only other RPTs' questions. Quite to the contrary,
most seem more than anxious to help the "newbies" learn. Frankly, I wish
that half the other _player_ techs I have known for lo these many years
were as anxious to help new people!

You said: >The absolute silence to my postings
>tells me that my participation is not wanted nor needed.......... Ok I can
>take a hint!

Well Andy, having re-read all your postings, I didn't see a question in any
of them. Most of these folks are full-time piano technicians and have
limited time on the computer. Some post very rarely, so when a name crops
up on a posting that seems to be new, no one knows if this is really a new
person or not, so it would seem silly to roll out the welcome wagon each
time one of us sees an unfamiliar name.

I don't recall anyone posting that your posts were unwanted or unneeded. I
am absolutely certain that any of us who do player work read them very
thoroughly.

I'm quite sure that had you posted requesting advice on what to do (for
example) with worn out wippens when replacements were not available, there
would have been an avalanche of responses from every perspective.

So..........to wrap up this "too long" post, stick with us a bit longer
Andy, and when there is a question that you can answer, reply to it! When
_you_ have a puzzlement, post the question as a question, and I'm sure
you'll receive all kinds of helpful suggestions from these great people.

Since I've rattled on too long however, none of them may be willing to
assist _me_ if I have a question.................  ;-)

Thanks for the list's patience.

Dean Randall
Tacoma,  Washington
mailto:pianolists@earthlink.net