7 ?!?!?
Nice.. very nice!! . I hope your health insurance is in good order! <G>
...Really.... 7 kids? wow...I'm impressed. sort of like the families at
our old church on Whidbey Island... Everyone had huge families on piano
tech incomes........ We had one...since I knew that a piano technician
only makes enough to care for 2. I definately NOT trying to step on toes
or tell you anything. but... I'm IMPRESSED that you can make this
happen!! Great job....7 more technicians in a dwindling piano-tech pool
go for it!!!
Paul
"Dean May" <deanmay at pianorebuilders.com>
Sent by: pianotech-bounces at ptg.org
04/10/2009 03:50 PM
Please respond to
pianotech at ptg.org
To
<pianotech at ptg.org>
cc
Subject
Re: [pianotech] Commercial value vs. sentimental value
Well, I appreciate that, Wim, because I still have 7 children left at home
to feed.
Dean
Dean May cell 812.239.3359
PianoRebuilders.com 812.235.5272
Terre Haute IN 47802
From: pianotech-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces at ptg.org] On
Behalf Of wimblees at aol.com
Sent: Friday, April 10, 2009 4:33 PM
To: pianotech at ptg.org
Subject: Re: [pianotech] Commercial value vs. sentimental value
Dean
There is a big difference between spending $400 - $500 on repairs to make
the piano playable for a few more years, and spending $4000 - $5000 to
rebuild the piano. I, too, have done, and will continue to do what you
describe. But to do more than that, no, I won't
Wim
-----Original Message-----
From: Dean May <deanmay at pianorebuilders.com>
To: pianotech at ptg.org
Sent: Fri, 10 Apr 2009 10:14 am
Subject: Re: [pianotech] Commercial value vs. sentimental value
We are here to provide a service, not make sure everyone ends up with a
premium high end piano. If we had our way, granted, nobody would have ever
purchased a Grand spinet to begin with. But people did, and they still
make poor choices in purchasing pianos, but it is their choice. It would
be rather elitest of us to forbid people from buying the pianos they want
to buy.
Similarly, once a customer has full disclosure, it is their choice whether
or not they wish to spend money on a piano. It is your choice to determine
whether you wish to accept the job or not. If you don’t want to, then
fine, God bless you. But please do not make judgment calls against piano
techs who do take such jobs. They are merely providing a service to a
customer with full disclosure so they can buy bread to feed their
children.
I have encountered hundreds of pianos on the bottom end of the spectrum
that haven’t been tuned for years. They need hammers glued back on, keys
eased, pins CA’d, major pitch raise, whatever. Often they’ve been told by
other techs that the piano was untunable, shot, worthless, etc. But they
still kept the piano for years. They didn’t trade it on a new Steinway. I
do $400-$500 worth of work, the piano is playable, the customer is happy,
and I have another tuning customer for repeat business. It ain’t sexy, but
it is bread on the table, and it does keep another piano making music.
Isn’t that what we are supposed to be about?
Dean
Dean May cell 812.239.3359
PianoRebuilders.com 812.235.5272
Terre Haute IN 47802
From: pianotech-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces at ptg.org] On
Behalf Of wimblees at aol.com
Sent: Friday, April 10, 2009 3:26 PM
To : pianotech at ptg.org
Subject: Re: [pianotech] Commercial value vs. sentimental value
Chuck
I believe that your statement: "It wasn't that great of a piano to begin
with," for me begs the question, "How can you be so sure?" is what this
whole conversation is all about. Think of it in terms of what we know
today. Let's fast forward 50 years, and a customer asks you to
restore/rebuild a 1970 Kincaid spinet, or a Grand console, because it has
sentimental value. What would you tell him/her? Low end pianos were not
just built in the 50's 60's and 70's. They have been around since pianos
were being made. It is our job as professionals to know which pianos are
worth restoring, and which are not.
Willem (Wim) Blees, RPT
Piano Tuner/Technician
Mililani, Oahu, HI
808-349-2943
Author of:
The Business of Piano Tuning
available from Potter Press
www.pianotuning.com
-----Original Message-----
From: Chuck Behm <behmpiano at gmail.com>
To: pianotech at ptg.org
Sent: Fri, 10 Apr 2009 1:40 am
Subject: [pianotech] Commercial value vs. sentimental value
In the opinions expressed about the ethics of working on old
uprights, the guiding principle seems to be whether an old piano is "worth
fixing" or not. Most technicians posting their opinions think that in
Sentimental value is a very important concept to understand, in that
it trumps commercial value, is in many cases is by far the most important
consideration to the customer.
My mother's wedding and engagement rings, for me, are an example of
how important sentiment value can be. They are very slender golden rings,
with a very, very small stone set in the engagement ring. Commercially,
the rings together would be worth next to nothing. Sentimentally, however,
they are priceless to me. They are practically the only thing I have left
of my folks to remember them by, and the only thing that represents their
60 years of marriage.
In the case of a piano with sentimental value such as this, I look
the instrument over with the customer and explain what we can and cannot
do to bring20the piano back to as close to the way it was when it was new
as possible.
What I can tell the customer is this:
1. When we finish with the piano, the case will be beautiful. Whether
it's ornate or plane, it will look as if it belongs on a showroom floor.
The finish will be glassy smooth, all chipped or damaged veneer will have
been repaired, and it will be the showpiece of any room.
2.
The statement that "It wasn't that great of a piano to begin with,"
for me begs the question, "How can you be so sure?" Unless it's a brand
you've seen numerous times, and know from past experience will probably be
a lemon (as I would attest for Meldorf grands, having had 4 of them in
the shop over the years - I still will work on them, but only with the
understanding of the owner of what they are going to have when I'm done -
which is not much, from a tonal standpoint), it's hard to see what the
piano was like when it began when it's been banged around for a century or
so. So many brands are unfamiliar, even to an experienced technician. Flip
through the pages of the Pierce Piano Atlas, and see how many brands you
recognize, and how many you don't. I have a copy of the Atlas that I've
kept since I started in business in the early 1970's, that has a check
mark besides every brand I've encountered. There are far more names
without a check mark than with - and that's after over 35 years of working
on pian os.
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