<HTML><HEAD> <META content="MSHTML 6.00.2900.2627" name=GENERATOR></HEAD> <BODY> <DIV>Don said: "And the end result--students who drop out and hate piano--so their own children will not be encouraged to play (no play no pay)."</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>I will now remove tongue from cheek re original post.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Hey, I didn't sell them this thing. As a matter of fact it was the mom's mom's (an heirloom!) and lived in an unheated/air conditioned garage in New Orleans for 20 years. (yipes!)</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>I had the pleasure(?) of making it play again, including replacing most felts and all the wippen, hammer, and damper flanges which were mostly crumbles of brownish-white plastic dust on the bottom board (the elbows are wood, probably replacements). Hey it's what they wanted. So I HAVE made a chunkachange from this beast.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Takes an engineering degree just to get the fallboard/key cover assembly out, but, actually, this piano doesn't sound or play all that badly ... .</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Okay, I'm lying.<BR><BR>Then there is this simple reality: For many, many, many people, it's a Krappe & Klunk or no piano at all. So frustration abounds ... a particular curse here in the "hills" where I see so many ugly uprights, sour spinets, pukey players, and goofy grands.<BR><BR>Alan R. Barnard, RSS*<BR>Not Really Complaining in Salem, Missouri<BR></DIV> <DIV>*Rural Pieaner Specialist.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Our Motto: <EM>"Most of the keys move up and down a little and piano-like sounds come out: See, it's regulated and voiced."</EM></DIV> <DIV><EM></EM> </DIV> <DIV>Our Definition of Perfect Pitch: <EM>"A Winter & Sons spinet shoved out of an airplane at 30,000 feet landing on a pile of wounded banjos, bagpipes, and accordions."<BR><BR></EM></DIV></BODY></HTML>