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<DIV dir=ltr align=left><SPAN class=062022018-07072007><FONT face=Arial
color=#0000ff><FONT face="MS Sans Serif" color=#000000> Paul
wrote: DISCLAIMER: The foregoing is my
personal experience only. If yours is different, I'd like to hear about
it.</FONT></FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr align=left><SPAN class=062022018-07072007><FONT face=Arial
color=#0000ff></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr align=left><SPAN class=062022018-07072007><FONT face=Arial
color=#0000ff>Mine's a little different. Granted I don't like working on digital
pianos. But I have worked on Kurzweils and Clavinovas. At least 80% of the
problems I've been called on to fix were mechanical in nature, most of them
dealing with cleaning or replacing the little contact pads under the keys or
pedals, or replacing key weights on Kurzweils. I've had to replace some switches
which involved de-soldering them from the circuit board, not something I'm
comfortable with, but I did it. The other electrical problems were solved by
hand holding with tech support over the phone, or for Kurzweil PC88s, you can
remove the electronics and send them in to Kurzweil for repair, a lot cheaper to
ship this way, weight wise, as opposed to sending the whole thing in.
</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr align=left><SPAN class=062022018-07072007><FONT face=Arial
color=#0000ff></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr align=left><SPAN class=062022018-07072007><FONT face=Arial
color=#0000ff>I find myself forced to do these repairs sometimes, mostly because
no one else in 70 miles will do it. But I try real hard to get out of it
whenever possible. I like to stay in my comfort zone (don't we all) and I don't
need the extra work.</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr align=left><SPAN class=062022018-07072007><FONT face=Arial
color=#0000ff></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr align=left><SPAN class=062022018-07072007><FONT face=Arial
color=#0000ff>I've not had any trouble getting parts from Yamaha or Kurzweil.
I've even gotten service manuals from them.</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV align=left>
<P class=MsoAutoSig><B><FONT face="Bradley Hand ITC" color=navy size=6><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 22pt; COLOR: navy; FONT-FAMILY: 'Bradley Hand ITC'">Dean</SPAN></FONT></B><FONT
color=navy><SPAN style="COLOR: navy"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoAutoSig style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><st1:PersonName w:st="on"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" color=navy size=3><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: navy">Dean
May</SPAN></FONT></st1:PersonName><FONT color=navy><SPAN
style="COLOR: navy">
cell 812.239.3359 <o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoAutoSig style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman"
color=navy size=3><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: navy">PianoRebuilders.com
812.235.5272 <o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoAutoSig style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City
w:st="on"><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=navy size=3><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: navy">Terre Haute</SPAN></FONT></st1:City><FONT
color=navy><SPAN style="COLOR: navy"> <st1:State w:st="on">IN</st1:State>
<st1:PostalCode
w:st="on">47802</st1:PostalCode></SPAN></FONT></st1:place></P></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV><BR>
<DIV class=OutlookMessageHeader lang=en-us dir=ltr align=left>
<HR tabIndex=-1>
<FONT face=Tahoma size=2><B>From:</B> pianotech-bounces@ptg.org
[mailto:pianotech-bounces@ptg.org] <B>On Behalf Of </B>Paul
McCloud<BR><B>Sent:</B> Saturday, July 07, 2007 11:18 AM<BR><B>To:</B> Pianotech
List<BR><B>Subject:</B> RE: Digital Piano Repair<BR></FONT><BR></DIV>
<DIV></DIV>
<DIV>
<DIV>Hi, Michelle:</DIV>
<DIV> Your question seems to be, should I try repairing
these electronic instruments? If this is your aim, you would indeed need
specialized knowledge in this field. Before I got into piano repair, I had
taken a course in electronics. I live in San Diego, which is a military
town. Lots of ex-military electonic techs live here. I couldn't land
a job to save my life, because I had no experience. Out of desperation, I
took a job as an apprentice piano technician at a local store. I'm
still at this same store almost 20 years later. It happened that
there was an organ repair shop in the same warehouse where we had our
pianos. I used to imagine myself working in their shop, but no openings
were available. As time went on, I observed the difficulties of electronic
repair, and was glad I never went in that direction.</DIV>
<DIV> First of all, you have to understand electronics,
so you go to a school, pay thousands of dollars for that, and then
graduate. </DIV>
<DIV> Ok, so you have the skill. Now, you get
one of these glorified organ things (digital whatever), and it's time for
repair. You have to disassemble the whole thing, just to get to the part
that's ailing. Then, you look up the part number, and order it from the
electronic part supplier. Or so you think. Hold on, partner!
THE PART NUMBER DOESN'T MATCH ANYTHING IN THE PARTS CATALOG! It's marked
with special numbers at the factory, which are proprietary. You have to
order the replacement parts from the factory. No problem, I'll order them
from the factory, right? NOT! They won't sell to you unless you are
the "Authorized Repair Facility". In order to become such a repair shop,
you have to stock thousands of dollars of parts, so you can do these repairs
in-house. Ok, ok, so you shell out the bucks to become the "Authorized"
repair shop. You have to do the warrantee! repairs for the company (I'm
talking about just one line of products here), so you'll have your phone ringing
off the hook for these. And, guess what? They don't pay very much to
do the repair, and it takes a long time before you get paid! </DIV>
<DIV> Now, not all brands are like this. But, many
are. The repair shop has since moved, but the repair guy has branched
out. He's now doing- PIANOS! Kind of gives you the idea which way
you should go. If their electronic keyboards need repair, leave it to
those who do that sort of thing. If the school can't afford to have them
repaired, that's a shame. But, I wouldn't try to get involved unless you
know what you're doing.</DIV>
<DIV> DISCLAIMER: The foregoing is
my personal experience only. If yours is different, I'd like to hear about
it.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> Good luck.</DIV>
<DIV> Paul McCloud, RPT</DIV>
<DIV> San Diego</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
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