Long ago, in a forgotten time, I studied electronics, with the aim of becoming a... well... technician. I took a correspondence course in electronics by mail, but afterwards I couldn't find a job (I live in San Diego, electronics mecca and home to the Navy and Marines). With so many competitors coming out of the military and others with years of experience, I was high and dry. Then one day, I found an ad for apprentice piano technician at a local piano store. Somehow I got the job, and here I am twenty years later a piano technician. The store I worked for also sold keyboards and electronic piano-like thingees, and they had an electronic repair shop in the back. Naturally, I wished that some day they might need some extra help in that department. Over the years, I realized that I had found a better way of making money than dealing with electronic repairs. I saw how much trouble it was for the repair guys to trace down the problems. Not only that, there were problems getting the repair parts. Most of these keyboards don't use generic part numbers, so finding replacements independent of the manufacturer is nearly impossible. You can't just go down to your local electronic store and get repair parts, you MUST get them from the manufacturer. Now, the manufacturer is not going to sell you the parts unless you are the Authorized Repair Center". So you have to set up as their contract repair shop, and invest thousands in parts and manuals. Then, when you submit your billing to them for making the warrantee repair, you wait and wait for them to reimburse you for your parts and labor. And believe me, the compensation is not as much as working for yourself repairing pianos. The two gentlemen who ran the shop were always getting squeezed by this policy. They decided not to go this route, but did mostly repairs on organs.
The bottom line is, do your homework and make sure you want to delve into this line of work. It's not always as rosy as it may appear.
Paul McCloud
San Diego
----- Original Message -----
From:
To: toddpianoworks at att.net;pianotech at ptg.org
Sent: 03/17/2009 4:18:19 PM
Subject: Re: [pianotech] Do we do Keyboard repairs??
Todd
Since you are just starting out in the field of piano tuning and repair, it might be in your best interest to look into expanding your field to include keyboard repair. With more and more people buying them, there is, and will continue to be, a bid demand for this kind of work. But, as John mentioned, it will require some capital outlay, and of course, some schooling. Repairing keyboards are akin to repairing computers. If you have a "mind" for this kind of work, go for it.
One thing you will find out, however, is that repairing keyboards will be very frustrating. Not from your end, but from the customer's end. When keyboards were first becoming popular, Bill Brandom, from Yamaha, gave a program at a chapter meeting. He mentioned that Yamaha invented a new keyboard every 10 months, but that that model would be obsolete in 18 months. Because manufactures make so many models, and each has their own components, it will be difficult to stock all the parts needed. So you'll wind up ordering the parts from the manufacturer. The problem is, most keyboards have a warrantee of a year or two. The manufacturer is required to make spare parts only for the duration of the warrantee. After that, they only keep what they have in stock, and once they are gone, they won't make any more. As a result, when a 5 year old keyboard breaks down, the chances of finding the component that is needed to make the repair, will be slim to none. (This is one of the reasons I give customers who are considering buying a keyboard why they should buy an acoustic piano.)
So, again, yes it would not be a bad idea to get into keyboard repair. Just be aware of the consequences and pitfalls.
Good luck
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: Matthew Todd <toddpianoworks at att.net>
To: pianotech at ptg.org
Sent: Tue, 17 Mar 2009 12:22 pm
Subject: [pianotech] Do we do Keyboard repairs??
I have been getting calls of late for repairing keyboards. Several weeks ago I received a call from a retirement home about a non-functioning damper pedal, and I just got off the phone with a church that has two sticking keys on their keyboard.
I am just wondering how many of us repair keyboards, and if it's worth getting involved with.
TODD PIANO WORKS
Matthew Todd, Piano Technician
(979) 248-9578
http://www.toddpianoworks.com
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