Hi Brian, thou hath a fair minde. I don´t think that a problem like this on a new piano should just be "fixed" (if it can be). If this piano got out with the "PASSED" tag on there´s something wrong with quality control. (I actually saw a Chinese piano once that had said tag on but the bottom sharp was glued backwards on, very funny really) Your dealer can tell the customer that there simply was a "fatal" defect (which the customer is likely to appreciate). The dealer should send the piano back, that gives the factory a message. The dealer could also get a discount for the replacement piano and let the customer reap the benefits from that. Net result = everyone happy, except you :) Go! Brian! Go! Go! Go! Kristinn Leifsson Reykjavík, Iceland At 01:59 29.5.2000 -0400, you wrote: >Hi List, > >I'm one very, very frustrated technician tonight. I just got home from >doing a few floor tunings,... I know, I know, it's a weird time to be doing >floor tunings, but it's nice and quiet, no one around, and it's usually very >peaceful... > >The last one I did was a new Wurlitzer C143 I think it was. One of the >el-crapo micro grands... > >Well, I didn't notice anything out of the ordinary to start off with. Stuck >in my mute strips and did my normal tuning type thing. Didn't give any of >it a second thought... until I got about 3/4 of the way through it. About >B-4 or so, tuning up through the unisons, I noticed a buzz. I figured a >loose screw somewhere, and I'd fix it when I was done tuning. Finished >tuning, and started looking for buzzes. Found several, including the little >round nuts on the key hold down strip, nothing new there. But it was still >buzzing. Kept on looking. Sounded like maybe something sitting on the >soundboard. So I start thumping around with my fingers, and my fist, >looking for a hint. Thumped on the plate, and I could hear it. Kept going >'till I got to the one and only strut support, you know the one where the >top of the support comes up to the bottom of the strut and there's a machine >screw that goes through the strut and screws into the support, which is in >turn screwed into a beam underneath... Well, I brushed up against the screw >and noticed it moved a bit. I figured I needed to tighten the screw. Until >I took a good look. My heart skipped a few beats when I saw it. The >support post was 3/4" below the bottom of the strut and about 1/2 inch too >far towards the keybed. The machine screw isn't broken. It was never put in >right in the first place! Dang! (That's the nicest word that came to >mind...) What the #%&*^@#% am I supposed to do with that?? This is brand >new on a showroom floor, sitting there with a SOLD tag on it waiting to be >delivered. > >I can't very well blame the dealer I work for. He wouldn't know unless and >until one of us tuner types told him about it. (I left him a note, and will >try to contact him as soon as I can.) I don't know if I can blame Baldwin. >They just buy them from Samick. I would imagine that some Korean dude on an >assembly line that hasn't a clue what that little bolt does just didn't know >what to do when it all didn't line up right so simply stuck the screw in the >hole and sent it along to the next guy... and so on. Until I get it. And >if I was unscrupulous, I would super glue the screw in and send it on it's >way. But I can't do that. I just can't do that. (Obviously, a few dozen >people before me didn't share my concerns. They didn't even bother with the >super glue!) > >What is the piano industry coming to? Is this garbage becoming the "norm"? >Does every single new piano that comes out have something wrong with it? > >I've become very frustrated. I see people with limited means buying these >pieces of junk thinking that they're pretty good pianos, when in fact, many >of them have major defects from the very start. > >I know I shouldn't take it personally, but my heart aches when I have to >deal with this stuff. I feel violated. I feel insulted that someone >somewhere expected me to buy the idea that this was a well built piano. >It's one thing to find an old piano in poor condition because of many years >of wear and tear. But these are new pianos. > >I don't get so upset when I have to repin a flange or twist a bass string or >ease a few keys. Those kinds of things are pretty minor in the whole scheme >of things. But things like setting a plate aren't so easy to go back and do >a "quick fix" on. > >I guess I shouldn't ramble on so. But I'm upset. I really am. I'm not >trying to be funny. I had planned to tune a few more tonight, but after >seeing that kind of slop attached to a new piano (shaped object), I decided >to quit and come back another day. > >Anyway, if anybody has an idea of what would be the most appropriate thing >to tell the dealer, I'd certainly be interested in what you have to say. > >Thanks for letting me blow off some steam. > >Best wishes to all, > >Brian Trout >Quarryville, PA >btrout@desupernet.net > > > >
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