Fw: HELP clarification

[pianoman]

Dear Les and All,
This was not a plea to get an appraisal for rebuilding.  This moving
company damaged this Beckweth uprt and the owner is claiming it is worth
$2,000.00.  It's damage was a small piece of veneer knocked off the back so
the moving company is trying to counter the owner with a more realistic
worth.  Supposedly an antique store operator told the owner that it would
be worth that amount if it was restored a number of years ago.  So far it
looks like I will call the moving company back with no referrals to give to
them to look at it for them.
James Grebe
R.P.T. of the P.T.G. from St. Louis, MO. USA, Earth
pianoman@inlink.com
            May I listen as well as I hear.

----------
> From: Les Smith <lessmith@buffnet.net>
> To: pianotech@ptg.org
> Subject: Re: Fw: HELP
> Date: Friday, June 05, 1998 11:54 AM
> 
> 
> 
> 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        
> 
>