<html> <head> <style></style> </head> <body class='hmmessage'><div dir='ltr'> Hi Everone, First I want to give my regards to Mikes family/friends anyone on the list who might have had close contact with him. Sorry to hear about your loss, and our as he was a great contributor and help to us all.  If Im correct, he is the gentelman from WI who's written and given me advice.help on occasion when I needed it.  As far as I know he was the only Mike I recall from WI.    Also, I hope everyone on this list who 's affected by this huricane Irene is safe tonight.  So far our power is working and I hope yours is also.    Also earlier today I evaluated an Acrosonic spinet.  Have any of you seen a piano where the left and center pedal both control the hammer rest rail as a soft pedal?  Both had seperate dowles and trap levers, but both made the hammer rest rail move.  I've never seen this.  Also how do you tell someone that this pianoo needs too much work and isn't worth fixing in "steps" as she put it?  She only wants t o spend 300.00 but it needs at least that.  I'd say a coule grand for startes, new strings, refurbished action new hammers for starters.  How do you just get it to where it's playable, and feel that is enough?. I think it should be more than just playable, it should perform correclty all around.  That's why I'm willing to get help with it for both that reason and incom e of coururse   I also encountered a Steinway M today that was filthy and required work, a last minute tuning a call Friday night at around 9. lol This guy needed it tuned for a wedding to be held Tomorrow Sunday.  Anyway, I went to tune it, it was  club, the guy renting the hall paid for the tuning. So what can I do in the future when I go to a piano like this in order to spruce it up, clean up the plate.  Since I use public transit  often, I can only carry so much but what can I use on the plate that I can have on hand to brighten it up.  I took som e hand sanitizer in a corner to see if it would take off some dirt and it did shh dont tell anyone, but what can I use to liven it up a little in appearence?   Thanks all be safe Marshall Marshall Gisondi Piano Technician Marshall's Piano Service pianotune05@hotmail.com 215-510-9400 <A href="http://www.phillytuner.com/" target=_blank>www.phillytuner.com</A> Graduate of The School of Piano Technology for the Blind <A href="http://www.pianotuningschool.org/" target=_blank>www.pianotuningschool.org</A> Vancouver, WA </div></body> </html>