<HTML>In a message dated 1/5/03 4:02:48 PM Central Standard = Time, tomtuner@attbi.com writes: <BLOCKQUOTE TYPE=CITE styl= e="BORDER-LEFT: #0000ff 2px solid; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px; PA= DDING-LEFT: 5px">Perhaps you see this differently than I, but you will notic= e that despite my “rant “on Bill I would never tell him what= to include in his contributions. Yes I found his post infuriating and respo= nded as such. If you’ve been on this list for long you will acknowle= dge that I’m not alone concerning this fellow.     &nbs= p;       Tom Driscoll RPT </BLOCKQUOTE> What I said wasn't directed at you personally as much as it was at the many = people I have seen take a stab at Kimball pianos at every opportunity. = And every time they do and I see it, it well, not *infuriates* but does get= me to take a stand for them. I've spent long hours working on certain Kimball products when no one else w= ould.  No one would clean out the dirt (it wasn't put there by the fact= ory), no one would take the action out to tighten the flanges (the factory d= idn't loosen them), no one would level the keys (the factory didn't send the= piano out with them unlevel), no one would adjust the lost motion (the fact= ory didn't send it out that way), no one would adjust the let-off (the facto= ry had it correct when the piano left), no one would replace the deteriorate= d grommets (they weren't that way when it left the factory) no one would rai= se the pitch to standard (the factory did). If everyone will do these things for any other piano but NOT a Kimball, is i= t the fault of the piano or the manufacturer or the attitude of technicians = who see and hear other technicians badmouthing Kimball products and wanting = to be among the "good old boys", and go right along with it? I'm afraid it doesn't stop with Kimball products either.  When I said "= virtually every piano", I meant it.  I have seen virtually every make, = from Steinway on down called a "PSO" or "junk".  I take particular note= of the attitude which some people have such as in this post from the archiv= es,      <<"It takes very little to figure out how to = tune and maintain a group of Kimball 42" Consoles and have no trouble at all= doing so. When you get to the level of compromise that these low-end pianos= represent, there is little need for high-level skills, they are the dregs o= f the market and all that is required to "tune" and service them is the most= rudimentary skills. That is why the majority of them are tuned by the cheap= est tuners in any given locality. In my experience, (which was at one time c= onsiderable), their owners rarely are willing to pay top dollar for the tech= s with the most expertise. ">> The same person says in another post,      <<"If one is tuning junk, then the machine is= of limited value, as it cannot make the compromises required to handle a po= or scale.">> If it takes so *little* skill, then why is the "poor scale" such a big probl= em? To the kind of person who has these opinions, I will always have a contrary = one and will make very good money satisfying the owner of the piano and prov= ing that the only reason for expressing such an opinion is an attempt to mak= e others have a far more exalted estimation of worth than is really demonstr= able. The chances are far better that the piano in question can be made useful for= the usual fee or a modest fee than one which is more than the customer can = afford. I would gladly tune and service it and move on to the next one and n= ot ever think that I was doing either the customer or myself or my professio= n a disservice. For the record:  Kimball did not go bankrupt the way Baldwin did. = The company wisely saw that there was an increasingly smaller demand for th= eir lower end but very durable pianos and decided to quit making them and mo= ve on to something else which *was* in demand and which could make a profit.= We, as technicians can continue to make a profit from the tuning, maintenanc= e and repair of that which Kimball (and the many other manufacturers like Ki= mball) have already pushed out the door.  Profits can easily be made in= buying and selling of these vintage instruments, the manufacturer will neve= r even get a portion of that profit. Yes, there were very poorly built, useless pianos but Kimball's products sho= uld not be thought of as all being in that one category.  Most any of t= heir pianos which were truly defective and unserviceable were long ago conde= mned.  Whenever you see someone putting them down, be suspicious of tha= t person's motives. Bill Bremmer RPT Madison, Wisconsin <A HREF="http://www.billbremmer.com/">Click here: -=w w w . b i l l b r = e m m e r . c o m =-</A></HTML>