Fw: HELP

[Les Smith]

On Thu, 4 Jun 1998, pianoman wrote:

> > To: pianotech@ptg.org
> > Subject: HELP
> > Date: Thursday, June 04, 1998 4:01 PM
> > 
> > Hi All,
> > Just got a call from a moving company from Kansas City, MO.  They need a
> > piano tech to look at a piano in Sikeston, MO to estimate worth of a
> > Beckweth piano.  I told her I would post it on the list and give her a
> call
> > back Fri afternoon.  Any one close or know of someone who is.
> > Thanks,
> > James Grebe

Hi, Jim:

This information has been repeated so many times in the past that one
would think that EVERYOONE knew it by now, but such is obviously not
the case. Except for a few higher-quality player pianos built during the
twenties which occasionally are marginally worth rebuilding/restoring to-
day, the Beckwith piano, marketed by Sears through their stores and by
catalog, was an extemely low-quality instrument whose target market was
the occasional, home-pianist who had little talent or formal training,
a tin ear, and--above all--neither the musical understanding, nor adequate
dollars, to purchase something of higher quality--which, in essence, meant
just about ANYTHING else. Except for one of the occasional old player
pianos already mentioned, Beckwith pianos--be they uprights, or grands--
invariably are NOT worth the time, effort and expense--for either the
technician, or unfortunate owner--to try to rebuild. Simply put, advise
your client to junk that Beckwith clunk and direct their dollars into
either purchasing and/or rebuilding something worthwhile. Attempts to
try to salvage an irredeemable junker are sure to result in disappoint-
ment and financial loss on the part of the owner and frustration and
damage to the reputation of the tech who unwisely advised the ill-fated
project. NO TECHNICIAN needs work that bad. No one.      

Anyone who is attracted by the dollar earning potential of rebuilding
pianos and aspires to be successful at it, has to learn--early on--to
be able to accurately and consistently differentiate piano quality. A
relatively small number of old, "performance-pianos" are actually worth
rebuilding. Most are not. Further, when it comes to so-called commercial
pianos--old, or new, those intended for consumption by the masses-the
uninformed rebuilding of such disposable, limited-lifetime instruments
is largely a waste of time, effort and the owners money. Lastly, there
are a lot of bottom-of-the-barrel pianos floating around out there which
have been--in essence--junkers since day one. The technician who aspires
to  one day do top-flight, performance-piano rebuilding work MUST learn to
be able to distinguish all these various quality pianos from one another.
Consistently. 

Just as technicians constantly work at upgrading their skills, expertise
and knowledge, so too should they work at upgrading the quality of the
instruments on which they work. Which means that if you've already been in
the business for a number of years, you should NOT be wasting your time
working on Beckwiths.. or similar-(no)quality instruments. Similarly, some
technician should have had the guts long ago to honestly inform the owner
of the Beckwith in question the true value and quality of their instru-
ment, and the utter financial folly involved in hauling it around the
country from place to place, probably in the mistaken belief that they
"don't build 'em like that any more". The fact is that they do and such
instruments are found--even today-- with names like Horugel (early
Samicks) and Pearl River. :( 

All of which is not to be construed as a put-down of the Beckwith piano.
They met a market need at the time--specifically that of untalented, un-
trained, musically-unsophisticated amateur pianists of limited financial
means and discernment, who hoped that such an instrument would add kul-
ture--with a capital "K"--to their mundane lives. In the end, it mattered
little that it didn't. Beckwith purchasers never knew the difference. On
the other hand, YOU--the technician--SHOULD! :)

As i said at the beginning, the foregoing has been common knowledge for
the greater part of this century.

Just one old tech's opinion, of course!

Les Smith
lessmith@buffnet.net