Jasper American Piano

[Billbrpt@AOL.COM]

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In a message dated 11/22/00 8:04:44 AM Central Standard Time, 
mfarrel2@tampabay.rr.com (Farrell)
 writes:


> > "Instead of the high flight tune-offs between Coleman & Smith, the
> > ultimate PTG challenge might have been having a couple of our
> > superstars each uncrate one of those puppies, and after a frenzy of
> > string seating and hammer needling, see what they could turn them
> > into."
> 
> Now that is an interesting thought. Give 'em maybe four to eight hours -
> anything goes - and see what they can do. I'll bet a GREAT EDUCATIONAL
> DIVIDEND would result. Are you reading this Dale Probst??? Who is running
> the show in Reno this year??? Are you reading this??? Is this an idea or
> what? Anything to increase the tolerability of some of these offensive
> little critters.
> 
> 
Frankly, Terry, I don't see this happening.  As someone who deals with this 
kind of piano, fine grands and everything in between, I can tell you that you 
learn to look at the piano and the expectations of the customer as individual 
cases.  The old saying, "You can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear" 
comes to mind.  The lady thought it sounded pretty good as it was and 
speaking pragmatically from experience, that already counts for a lot.

Doing what you and the other writer suggest, tearing the piano apart, seating 
strings, replacing materials, etc., would only end up making you, the 
technician look like some kind of con artist who would try to "sell ice to 
Eskimos".  If this piano had not been tuned in years but the customer is not 
concerned about pitch, why try to *force* that issue?  If she agrees that it 
sounds "tinny" and it is obvious that the hammers were overly hardened, why 
not just squirt a little alcohol on them or use Roger Jolly's steam method?

Now, I might do things like vacuum out dirt, lube, tighten screws, adjust 
lost motion, let-off, key level and dip, file and basically voice hammers on 
a piano like this when the time comes and the customer agrees.  But in this 
case, it is a newer instrument which was obviously purchased more as a piece 
of furniture than as a musical instrument.  It would be best to simply tune 
while perhaps raising the pitch a small but comfortable amount and use a 
quick and easy voicing technique that would soften the overly hard hammers.

If the tuning pins are tight, take that as a positive thing, not negative.  
The back structure of these kinds of pianos is a solid as a rock.  You can 
count on at least that part of it to hold up for a lifetime.  Use the kind of 
tuning hammer and/or technique that will allow you to move those pins.  Don't 
worry about false beats if there are any, the customer can't distinguish such 
fine points.  Don't badmouth the piano in any way.  Tell her it "looks nice" 
in her living room and "sounds pretty good" when you are finished tuning, *in 
the usual amount of time and for the usual fee*.

Lastly, do you think I would *insist* on tuning in ET for all of the reasons 
people give?  Never, never, never.  The beauty of knowing a variety of HT's 
or creating a unique temperament as I have with the EBVT is that you really 
can make such a piano sound ever so much sweeter to the people who own it.

Time and again in my career, I have done the simple, practical, useful and 
appropriate things to service the small, common piano and have built a loyal 
and contented clientele while others who "only do Steinways" and who have 
proposed "rebuilding" an instrument which is essentially new have been 
labeled as crooks and gone out of business.  If there is to be a Convention 
program about how to handle a piano like this, it should be about how to do 
the basic and practical things easily and efficiently, not on applying the 
techniques used on fine, expensive instruments where they will do little or 
no good.

Bill Bremmer RPT
Madison, Wisconsin

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