am I getting too old?

[David Chadwick]

Les, 
I try to stay away from the old giants as well, however, when I try to determine what the situation is with the person on the phone it usually the case that the person can't faithfully describe what condition the piano is in or even the maker of the instrument. More often than not when I see the piano it is either a tunable piano of medium quality or something exceptional (in the world of never ending uprights) that is unique in case, construction and vintage that will yield good results especially if it has been cared for during it's life on earth. I guess my main question I ask to determine if it's worth the trip to their door is "how long have you owned it and when was the last time it was tuned". The other side to that is the time wasted when you enter to find the 3 castered door beater just waiting for string breakage hour. An unfortunate waste of time and gas but I will have no problem being the bearer of bad news and get out with a little extra time for errands and a piano owner with a easier decision to make. 

David C. 
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Willem Blees 
  To: l-bartlett at sbcglobal.net ; pianotech at ptg.org 
  Sent: Thursday, January 24, 2008 7:15 PM
  Subject: Re: am I getting too old?


  Les

  When you get to the point where you don't want to work on old clunkers, and you don't need old pianos just to fix them up, you can pat yourself on the back, and say, "I'm finally doing what I LIKE to do, and not what I HAVE to do, to make a living". That is when the drudgery ends, and the fun begins.   You've not gotten old. You've just gotten very good. Congratulations. 

  Willem (Wim) Blees, RPT
  Piano Tuner/Technician
  Honolulu, HI
  Author of 
  The Business of Piano Tuning
  available from Potter Press
  www.pianotuning.com


  -----Original Message-----
  From: Leslie Bartlett <l-bartlett at sbcglobal.net>
  To: pianotech at ptg.org
  Sent: Thu, 24 Jan 2008 3:56 pm
  Subject: am I getting too old?


  I got a call today from some guy who has an "old K&C" piano with some broken strings and some broken hammers and needs a tune up real bad……………   Do many come to the point where there is a limit to "problems" one reaches and finally just decides s/he doesn't want to work on such a relic?   He says he'll call me back (I am afraid he might) after I get done with a school district.
  I also got a call from a man wanting to give away a "concert baby grand piano".  Free, no less!  And insensitive me, I declined the offer.   I'm kind of serious about the question, though. The guy says he has a whole bunch of hammers he bought from someone, so is sure I could find ones that fit. He just doesn't know how to do the fixin'.     I hope I'm not becoming a snob, but I simply can't bring myself to face things which seem to offer no hope of being better after being "worked on"……
  les bartlett 

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