<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN">
<HTML><HEAD>
<META http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; =
charset=iso-8859-1">
<META content="MSHTML 5.50.4611.1300" name=GENERATOR>
<STYLE></STYLE>
</HEAD>
<BODY bgColor=#ffffff>
<DIV>Bill, if they do go with another tech it will probably be with =
someone who
has no where near your knowledge. Then, when the situation doesn't =
improve, you
will be vindicated. Small consolation, and it would be better to find a
solution, but I really think that you've done everything humanly =
possible
(except being in a service, right next to the pianist and shouting "Not =
so
hard!!!!!!!!!!!")</DIV>
<DIV>Kevin E. Ramsey<BR><A
href="mailto:ramsey@extremezone.com">ramsey@extremezone.com</A></DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE
style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; =
BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<DIV
style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: =
black"><B>From:</B>
<A title=Billbrpt@AOL.COM =
href="mailto:Billbrpt@AOL.COM">Billbrpt@AOL.COM</A>
</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A =
title=pianotech@ptg.org
href="mailto:pianotech@ptg.org">pianotech@ptg.org</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Monday, January 29, 2001 =
7:24
AM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Re: Piano Firing =
Missiles at
Church Congregation</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV><FONT face=arial,helvetica><FONT size=2>WOW! =
<BR><BR>Thanks for
all the replies, folks. It's nice to know how willing people are =
<BR>to
help with ideas and opinions. I know I may come off at times =
like a "Mr.
<BR>know-it-all" but really, I only have superficial knowledge and =
experience
<BR>with such things as manufacturing concerns, scale design, etc.
However, I <BR>have been around for quite a while and have heard =
and
seen a lot. <BR><BR>One thing I noticed early on in my career as a =
piano
technician was that you <BR>can often expect contradictory opinions on =
virtually any subject. A couple <BR>of things that were new to =
me and
which I had not considered were counter <BR>bearing angles and agraffe =
damage.
Also, the use of the damper pedal as a <BR>factor in string =
breakage was
something I had not really heard of before. <BR><BR>It seems obvious =
to me
that simply weaving some extra and tighter string <BR>braid would keep =
strings
from flying out. Some of the suggestions about <BR>other ways to =
restrain the strings seemed a bit surprising. I had always =
<BR>thought
of string braid as being principally a mute but I can see that it =
<BR>could
also prevent shooting strings. <BR><BR>I agree that the story is =
comical, at
least at first thought but if someone <BR>were to be injured, it could =
quickly
turn to a grim scenario. Another factor <BR>that I did not bring =
up was
that I tried the best I could to get this church <BR>*not* to buy a =
piano from
the particular dealer in question. My opinion of <BR>Young Chang =
pianos
completely aside, the reputation of the dealer as being <BR>the worst =
of the
worst has a lot to do with whether buying any instrument at <BR>all =
from that
source would be advisable. <BR><BR>When I visited the dealer I usually =
do work
for, I told him of the problem <BR>just in case the church decides to =
trade
the piano in. This problem should <BR>definitely be known. =
I can
see that if the church does buy a new piano, it <BR>should be =
specially
prepared in order to minimize the possibility of the <BR>problem =
occurring in
a completely different instrument. Still, the image of <BR>a =
piano
coming from *that* dealer now firing scuds at the congregation is =
<BR>really
funny. They got their "good deal" and now they're paying the =
price
<BR>for it. <BR><BR>I have not contacted Young Chang yet, I haven't =
been asked
to do so. The <BR>young lady pianist says she wants to talk to =
the
pastor and the dealer. She <BR>doesn't buy my explanation. =
She
thinks I "tightened the strings too much". <BR>She said she saw =
me
working once and it looked to her that I was "tightening =
<BR>everything really
hard". <BR><BR>They also haven't paid the bill for the tuning that I =
did now
30 days ago <BR>even though they had always been prompt before, =
sometimes even
paying when I <BR>completed the job that day. When I left the =
bill on
the desk, I saw my last <BR>invoice sitting there marked, "Hold until =
next
bill." Now, there is also a <BR>bill for replacing two more =
strings and
another string is on order. <BR>Yesterday having been Sunday, I =
can
fully imagine that the other string of <BR>the unison that just broke =
will
have broken too. I did tell the girl that it <BR>was likely. =
She
asked why and I again explained to her that it is the way <BR>the =
piano is
played and her reply was that she had a hard time accepting that. =
<BR><BR>So,
that is where it stands now. If they call someone else, I may =
not be
<BR>troubled by the problem anymore but I can also see that I may be =
the one
whom <BR>everyone blames for the problem. The dealer is =
certainly
capable of that. <BR>That *unequal* temperament I tune caused =
the
problem, he might say and you <BR>can be sure that it will be =
believed.
<BR><BR>I'll let you all know what transpires. <BR><BR>Bill Bremmer =
RPT
<BR>Madison, Wisconsin</FONT> </FONT></BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>