Clyde, At 07:23 5/20/2004 -0400, you wrote: >Conrad, > >Good in whose eyes? The customer is always right, my friend, right??? >It took me a few years to figure out how to respond when a customer, who >owns a worn-out PSO (piano shaped object), proudly says to me, "Well, what >do you think of my piano?" Since I try never to lie, this takes a little >fancy talk which can go in several directions. Since they are obviously >in love with the "thing," a typical response from me would include, "The >main thing is that it does what you need it to do." They usually leave it >at that. >So I tend to agree with what you say here. It is good in their eyes or >for their purposes, even if objectively I would never call it a good piano >on an evaluation. > >"Good" means different things to different people. If I am asked if a >piano is a good piano, I sometimes ask, "Do you mean good quality, good >condition or whether it will be relatively trouble-free?" Then I know >better how to answer. I agree. A recent thing happened here to confirm my "no bad piano" philosophy. The mother of a local piano teacher recently moved to town and brought her old piano with her. Naturally, the daughter had me go over to attend to the arrival. What did I find which had started the piano teacher off on her musical career?? A WINTER spinet. There's been lots of bad-mouthing of Winter spinets and their Ĉolian brethren on this list over the years. Well deserved, too. I find it hard to say that they have no redeeming value if they are a springboard to a musical career, or even if they only offer the opportunity to have live music in the home. Consumer oriented/value priced/el cheapo pianos do have their value, but that same "good" piano would be bad in a concert setting. As the realtors would say, location, location, location... Conrad Hoffsommer - Music Technician Luther College, 700 College Dr., Decorah, Iowa 52101-1045 Vox-(563)-387-1204 // Fax (563)-387-1076 The shortest distance between two points is under construction.
This PTG archive page provided courtesy of Moy Piano Service, LLC