SOJ

[Farrell]

Oh, man, you just about bring a tear to my eye. In my post on damper lever
rebuilding, I throw in a complaint about shoddy "rebuilders" who only
replace hammers, damper felt, and bass strings. That scope of work sounds
like a complete remanufacture compared to your unfortunate experience. New
bridle straps? HA! So, so, sad.

Except for at the annual PTG conventions, I have yet to come across a
reasonably properly "rebuilt" piano. Am I right to think that greater than
95% of the "rebuilt" pianos out there are no better than slightly improved
poorly playing worn out pianos whose miserable lives have MAYBE been
extended another ten or so torturous years?

Terry Farrell

----- Original Message -----
From: "Ron Nossaman" <RNossaman@KSCABLE.com>
To: <pianotech@ptg.org>
Sent: Tuesday, September 25, 2001 6:59 PM
Subject: SOJ


> Speaking Of Junk, ethics, misunderstandings, and general qualifications
for
> buying, owning, tuning, repairing, and rewhatevering pianos, I got another
> dose today.
>
> When the lady called (referral), she said she needed two pianos tuned, a
> Hardman console and an old upright that had been "completely rebuilt".
> After the usual phone frisking and disclaimers, she assured me that it had
> indeed been completely rebuilt. With tongue firmly between teeth, I
> scheduled her for late morning today.
>
> Finally finding the place in an area the maps don't believe in, I decided
> to look at the upright first. Beautiful thing, from across the room.
> Clearing off the top and lifting the lid revealed exactly what I had
> assumed I would find just like 95% of all the previous times I'd bitten
the
> bullet and gone out to look at "completely rebuilt" old uprights, so I
said
> "AHA"! "Is that a good, or bad AHA", she asked, so I showed her. New
bridle
> straps, filed hammers (worn to the moldings in the treble), new keytops
> (not filed or notched to fit the key), and a refinished case. That's it
for
> the total rebuild. The rest of the piano was original, though the dust had
> somehow gotten blown out before it could be sprayed over. Moved in an
> uncovered truck, I expect. I pointed out the extremely dead bass, double
> striking hammers, rattly action, and split out treble bridge. I explained
> that this is why I tend to become argumentative over the phone with folks
> who call in telling me that an old upright is in wonderful condition and
> has just been "completely rebuilt". I declined to tune it, since what it
> needed was rebuilt, very possibly completely rebuilt - only more so. She
> understood, and even smiled at the dumb joke.
>
> The Hardman was, and probably still is, a late Aeolian product. It sounds
> detectably less bad now than it did yesterday. In fact, I was relieved
that
> it went as well as it did. Some days, I feel lucky just to make it home.
>
> Ron N