Peeved in Pennsylvania... (long)

[Roger Jolly]

Hi Brian, 
              Just ship it back, Balwin is good when it comes to these type
of things.
Roger



At 01:59 AM 29/05/00 -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
> 
Roger Jolly
Saskatoon, Canada.
306-665-0213
Fax 652-0505