Fw: HELP

[Gregory Torres]

Les,

Glad to see you posting on the list.

FWIW, I have serviced 2 Beckwith uprights in the last 5 years, one was in really
sad shape, but the other was just suffering from neglect and had moth damage to
the key felts and needed keytops. I pitch raised from -200 cents, installed a
set of Vagias simulated ivory tops, replaced all keyframe and filed and voiced
the hammers and it became a very nice instrument. I guess there can always be an
exception to the rule when it comes to certain pianos.

IMHO I think that pianos should always be examined and appraised on an
individual basis.

Sincerely,
Greg Torres

Les Smith wrote:

> 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