Hi Bill, More acid with your tea, Bill? Don Quixote? Tilt away Bill. http://www.a1.com/shirt/cgi/t-shirt.cgi?dqc Perhaps they will make a tee shirt for you Bill. And thanks again for being *so* amusing and pleasant! At 11:50 PM 4/10/99 EDT, you wrote: > >The last time someone asked about a "birdcage" action piano, it started a war >that is still going on now. The respondent was an older guy who is like many >on the List who freely insult any kind of piano they feel is beneath their >dignity. He would have you believe that he is one of the privileged who only >work on grands and only the best of those. > >He enjoys making himself feel like the old sage and having you feel inferior >by spouting all kinds of knowledgeable sounding, esoteric seeming comments >without really giving any information you can use. If you have a problem >with a piano that you don't understand, that's because it's a "PSO". You >should be working on Steinway D's, not Betsy Ross Spinets, you idiot! > >Therefore, he came up with the cute, little phrase, "Birdcages are for the >birds!" > >Just as I did to the person who thinks it's perfectly fine to write something >like, "regulation is not something I identify vertical Kimballs as being >subjected to in any great detail, at the factory", even though he knows that >this is insulting to technicians who work on these kinds of pianos for a >living, to people who own this make of piano and to people who are still in >the piano business who once worked at that factory, I told him the remark was >inappropriate and gave advice to the technician who was inquiring. > >What followed from him and others has to be seen to be believed. Pure >garbage, vulgarity, words of bigotry, intolerence, hatred and obsenities. > >The piano you are talking about is very likely not serviceable. This means >that you will probably not be able to tune it or get it to even play in >anywhere near the timeframe that you would allow for a piano service >appointment. A "birdcage" action piano is called that because the unusual >overdamper configuration reminds one of a birdcage. An overdamper is one >that has a damper wire that reaches over the hammer and damps on top of it. >You have probably seen some verticals that have a few on the lowest notes in >the tenor. Steinway is one make that has them. They are usually found on >the better made uprights. > >In the "birdcage" action piano, all of the dampers are made that way. This >makes them very difficult to work on compared to what you usually are used >to. You can't use mutes the way you usually do. If the piano were in really >good working order, there would really be no reason for you to turn it down >if you are looking for work and want something to fill out your schedule. >You'd just have to plan on spending more time and you might be able to >negotiate a higher than usual fee because of that alone. > >However, this piano is first and foremost, very old. It was built in a >country with a different climate and according to different standards than >those built in North America. By this time, it is very likely to have >suffered serious structural damage such as a delaminated or separated >pinblock, severely cracked, deteriorated and separated soundboard and >probably also has action parts which are either very brittle or coming apart >and unglued. These action parts are also different from what you are used to. > >Sometimes, people buy such a piano from an antique dealer who believes that >the piano has true antique value. Some of them have beautiful veneers and >case designs. The dealer may be aware that the piano needs some repair but >so do most antiques. Some antique collecters don't care that an item is not >functional and have no intention of repairing it, much like a museum may >accept and keep an item in the condition it was found for whatever reason. > >Therefore, you can't assume that anyone is to blame for someone acquiring >such a piano and expecting that a few keys might be repaired, the piano tuned >and afterwards there will be a beautiful, old, musical instrument from >another time and country. I have seen such a situation several times over >the years. I have also never seen more unhappy customers than those to whom >I must say that the piano is virtually worthless. > >Therefore, this is one job that you might just want to not pursue. The same >issues will probably apply to most any square grand you may be called about, >although most of those were made in America. However, you might also find >that it is really not in such bad shape and with some good, solid practice of >basic piano technology skills, you can have a piano that plays reasonably >well and will hold a tune, maybe even at standard pitch. > >You should approach such a piano with the idea that it is doubtful but a >conclusion cannot be drawn without you seeing and inspecting it. You might >want to schedule only a service call for a set fee that the customer agrees >to for an Appraisal/Evaluation. Since this one is far away, it would really >be best if you did that when you are in the area. You might plan on and >limit yourself to 30 minutes. > >If you do find something that you can work with and you need the work, it may >well be something that takes a full day or more and the issue of driving 50 >miles won''t be so much of a consideration. It's up to you. > >Now, I, myself would not be interested in such a challenge because like many >on the List, I have worked long and hard enough that I can do without the >frustration that this kind of job is very likely to present. I'd much rather >work on a nice piano in a nice home in the suburbs where I can park the car >in the large driveway and walk out less than an hour later with a premium >tuning fee in my pocket. > >You have to decide whether this is in your economic interest and if you think >you might learn and improve your skill from such an experience. But you >don't need to listen to nor be intimidated by the "good ol' boy" attitude >that prevails among some on the List. Many of those who made such insulting, >degrading and demeaning remarks a daily practice formed a new list a while >back under the auspices of an organization known as the Master Piano >Technicians of America. > >That group was founded by people who were disgruntled with PTG for various >reasons but for many, it was the issue of actually having to take an exam to >prove competency. A little less than 20 years ago, their president was from >my home town, Madison, Wisconsin. He was the biggest buffoon you could ever >imagine. I would describe him as a cross between the Wizard of Oz and Archie >Bunker. Yet, he had a lot of piano customers in this town suckered real >good. People spoke of him as the ultimate authority on any piano question or >issue. > >He was responsible for the notion many people around here had that if you >installed a Dampp-Chaser system in a piano that it would "void the warranty". > He finally skipped town leaving a dozen or so customers who had given him >deposits for the "rebuilding" job he was supposed to do, waiting for their >pianos and the poor dupe that worked with him holding the bag. > >He frequently made judgmental remarks about the kinds of pianos that you, I >and the majority of working technicians earn their living on and the kind >that the majority of piano owners have. Only the best grands were good >enough for him and everything else was "junk". Yet, when he skipped town, he >left a trail of destruction, difficult to imagine, due to neglect and >incompetent, substandard practices. Even now after well over 10 years, the >effects of his behavior still plague the community. > >When I see the same kind of comments and attitude displayed by people on this >List, I think of what I have seen and learned by experience. I fully realize >that there are good, competent technicians who have found something they like >in MPT and so have joined it but I have also seen that virtually everyone who >tosses around the kind of flippant remarks that are truly an embarrassment to >the piano service profession are also those who created the MPT Talklist and >belong to MPT or associate with it by participating on its list. > >For that reason, I personally would never associate myself with that group. >There is a serious lack of any kind of professional standard in its very >structure. I say these things not to indict any particular person. I just >wonder if some people who really don't need the kind of potential negative >influence that is there might be drawn into it out of naivety. It's easy to >find acceptance in the lowest common denominator among a group of "good ol' >boys". > >Sincerely, >Bill Bremmer RPT >Madison, Wisconsin > > > Regards, Don Rose, B.Mus., A.M.U.S., A.MUS., R.M.T., R.P.T. drose@dlcwest.com http://www.dlcwest.com/~drose/ 3004 Grant Rd. REGINA, SK S4S 5G7 306-352-3620 or 1-888-29t-uner
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