Pilgram's Progress, (was electric)

[A440A@AOL.COM]

Greetings, 
     I will compile several responses to my "slamming" the little, cheap, 
PSO's,  and would like to say right off the front that those that disagree 
with my point have as valid a position as I.  This would be a boring and 
useless list if we all had the same opinions and perspectives.  
#1: Carl writes: 
>>You are right that Ferrari mechanics make more money because their owners

like to brag to their friends how much it costs to fix it every other week

whereas the vw owners brag how cheap their cars are to run.<<

    Forgive me for disparaging Volkswagons.  I had one too,  but the point 
was that the Ferrarri mechanics make more money in an hour than a VW grease 
monkey  because there are a lot fewer people that can successfully work on 
them, the tolerances and demands are greater, and the cost of incompetance is 
far higher.  A mistake on a VW is very cheap to repair.  (ow,ow, ow,  I done 
inflamed the Beetle crowd,  sorry, and if there needs to be more beating 
about this, let's start a different thread.) 


Carl again: 

>>The primary function of a piano is to produce good music.  The secondary

goal should be appearance and snob appeal. <<

      I agree,  however,  the majority of consoles and spinets I saw were 
rarely played, having been purchased for (what I think I remember) Loesser 
calls in his book "Men, Women,and Pianos",  "The attempt to purchase 
culture".  These were instruments that were sold on the strengths of their 
cabinet style more so than their stringing scales.  ( a Winter spinet in 
Mediterranean Pecan?)

Keith writes: 
I fail to comprehend your reasoning, Ed.
In less I greatly misunderstand you, to imply specializing in grands as
some type of intended goal and as being professional work, and the other
type work you mention as something other, is not rational thought. << 

    Hmm, it appears thatwe have different perspectives, but I don't think 
either of them are irrational. Both types of pianos represent professional 
work. 

>>While specializing in grands can be its own reward for some, I could never
consider it a great day to reach that place, and that place only, unless
that became a specific calling.<< 

    That was my point, ( and I was making a personal point with that 
sentence). For me, it was a specific calling, given even more impetus by the 
repetitive stress injuries I suffered from tuning uprights.  I am naturally 
competitive, and getting the high-end customers with high-end quality work 
was a means I had of gauging myself as I built my business. 

>>All the places, people, and pianos I would miss out on experiencing to be
*that* professional.   <snip> I am grateful there are those who do specialize 
in specific areas where the need exists, but it's certainly not for everyone, 
nor a necessarily, desirable goal either.<< 

    For some,  it is not a goal at all, for others, it is an unavoidable 
path.  Time is a finite resource and at some point in our life, when there 
will is little time left,  its value will be tremendous. 
    Most resources owe their value to their relative scarcity, and when a 
beginning tradesman has more time than work, they can't really charge much. 
My point was, and is, that as we progress through our careers, gaining 
experience, we should try to make our time increasingly valuable, so that the 
experienced veteran's time is worth more than the beginner.  
    I know that in the beginning, as a green tech in a new town,  I could 
only compete on price, which caused me to see a lot of cheap pianos. Looking 
back,  it is evident that the quality of my work, the quality of the pianos I 
worked on, and the amount of money per hour that my market was willing to pay 
me were all inextricably linked to the same curve.  
   I can understand that the wintry scene Acrosonic scenario  Keith described 
can be of value, but would it have been lessened if the car was parked in a 
warm garage while the tuning was done on a concert grand inside? ( and would 
it be better or worse if that car was a Volkswagon?(:)}}
   Ok, so we have several different slants on this, so far,  and while the 
tribe is gathered round striking matches to give me a hot-foote,  what about 
others?  Am I the only one that wanted to specialize, even to the exclusion 
of the smallest, least costly pianos?  
Regards to all, 
Ed Foote RPT