<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN">
<HTML><HEAD>
<META http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; =
charset=windows-1252">
<META content="MSHTML 6.00.2800.1400" name=GENERATOR>
<STYLE></STYLE>
</HEAD>
<BODY bgColor=#ffffff>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>I think Dave brings up some good =
questions, ones
that I have asked myself, and ones I don't have really good answers
for.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Part of the trouble, for me anyway, is =
that I don't
think the car analogy works all that well. I wish it did, 'cause I like
'em.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>If you don't change your oil, your =
motor will wear
at an increased rate. If you don't align your front end, your tires will =
wear
prematurely. If you don't maintain your brakes, they could fail and =
you/someone
could die.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>If you don't file the grooves out of =
hammers, or
regulate the action every five years or level the keys, does anything =
wear out
prematurely? Is it dangerous? I think it is pretty much a performance =
thing. I
think it is the reason there are many more Chevrolet Caprice and Ford
Taurus-type cars sold than high performance cars - as long as the thing
functions ok, then it's good enough for my use.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>I have trouble with the same questions =
that Dave
has and don't have the answers. There are some techs who sell blocks of =
service
time rather than just a tuning. A typical block might be a half-day. =
Tune,
regulate touch-up, tone build, etc. But I really doubt many of these =
clients are
typical moms and dads with the Whitney/Sears spinet that second-year =
student
Suzie plays. It's these average-joe piano owners we are talking about
here.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Terry Farrell</FONT></DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE
style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; =
BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>Dave</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>I wonder if there is a 'car' analogy that might be =
useful .
. . I have my oil changed regularly, nad ya know, I don't notice =
a darn
bit of difference $100 later . . .??</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>I have the same dilemma with many customers, and =
when I am
listening to myself talk to the customer, I sometimes think I sound =
like an
encyclopedia salesman . . .!</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>Oh well, such are the thrills of the job . . =
.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>Hope you have a happy Christmas with your family, =
and know
that all those 'tuned' pianos will be making your customers =
christmas's a
little bit better . . .</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT
=
size=2>----------------------------------------------------------------=
---------<BR>Jim
Kinnear<BR></FONT><A href="http://www.kinnearpiano.com"><FONT
size=2>www.kinnearpiano.com</FONT></A><BR><FONT =
size=2>Collingwood, ON,
Canada</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2><BR></FONT></DIV><FONT size=2>> <BR>>
Tuned a medium-quality console that was 25 or 30 =
years old
and had had <BR>> minimal use. While tuning along, I noticed =
that it
could use vacuuming and <BR>> a light hammer filing, but not
terribly. There was a bit too much lost <BR>> motion, but not =
enough
to bother most players. Several hammers weren't <BR>> quite =
aligned
to the center of the unisons, but were still striking all <BR>> =
three
strings. I'm sure the keys weren't perfectly level, nor the dip =
<BR>>
nicely uniform, and from its age and length of time without tuning, =
I'm sure
<BR>> all the flange screws needed tightening, along with plate =
screws and
all <BR>> other screws. Oh, and there were a few strings in =
the
treble that maybe <BR>> needed seating on the bridge or maybe their =
bridge
pins tapped in (false <BR>> beats). And I imagine that the =
let-off
was a bit wide. But it played <BR>> nicely and had a decent,
acceptable tone and sustain.<BR>> Nevertheless, =
I
thought I should point out to the owner what work the <BR>> piano =
could use
in addition to tuning to put it in top shape. So I <BR>> =
explained
all the above-mentioned items, that it was 30 years old and no =
<BR>> piano
goes that long without needing at least some routine =
maintenance, and
<BR>> that it would cost a few hundred dollars to do a complete
job.<BR>> She replied, "What would I =
notice?"<BR>>
And you know, in all honesty, I had to reply, =
"Well, maybe
not much." <BR>> The tone might be a LITTLE rounder after hammer =
filing, or
it might be too <BR>> bright and need subsequent voicing =
down. The
tone was pretty nice as it <BR>> was. She MIGHT notice that =
the
action was a tiny bit more responsive (no <BR>> lost motion, closer =
let-off) IF she was a fairly advanced player, which she <BR>> was
not. But vacuuming, tightening plate and flange screws, seating =
strings
<BR>> or bridge pins, de-traveling "wandering" shanks, regulating =
dip . . .
I <BR>> doubt she or most average casual players would notice any
change. (I <BR>> already tuned it).<BR>> =
Now,
with much older pianos where the hammers are extremely worn and the =
<BR>>
action is extremely out of regulation, or when the hammers badly need =
<BR>>
voicing, often the difference after reconditioning is dramatic. =
And
<BR>> sometimes the sum of the parts is greater than the whole, =
that is,
they <BR>> might not notice this or that item, but all together, =
the
reconditioning <BR>> improves the sound and touch of the =
instrument.
But in this case, I had a <BR>> hard time selling the job to even
myself.<BR>> Whatta ya do in these cases? =
Just
leave it? Wait until it's "pretty <BR>> bad" before you work =
on
it? Why should they spend $300 or more if the piano <BR>> =
will feel
and sound about the same as it did before? It doesn't increase =
<BR>>
the value all that much. It does prevent things from getting =
worse, I
<BR>> guess, but in this case, I think the piano would be about the =
same,
<BR>> regulation-wise, in 5 or even 10 years from now, with its =
very casual
use, <BR>> since it's been "about the same" for the LAST 5 or =
10
years.<BR>> --David Nereson,
RPT</FONT></BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>