Here, here! My last vehicle before the present: 1963 Beetle Bug. Red. Best engineered vehicle on road. Likely good I got rid of it before going into piano technology though. I would have had to put a roof rack on top to bring a grand action back to me shop! And then you have the rain problem! Terry Farrell Piano Tuning & Service Tampa, Florida mfarrel2@tampabay.rr.com ----- Original Message ----- From: "Meyer Carl" <cmpiano@home.com> To: <pianotech@ptg.org> Sent: Friday, January 05, 2001 11:12 PM Subject: Re: Electric piano > Ed; > > I'm not sure I agree with your analogy. > > A piano that sounds and performs well is a delight compared to a PSO. It's > been said that you get what you pay for. Not true. You get what you pay > for if you are very lucky. You can pay a lot for junk if you are not lucky > or not smart. > > A Volkswagen will get you where you want to go, get you home again and it > won"t tell anybody where you've been. And it will do it cheaper than most > other cars. > > You are right that Ferrari mechanics make more money because their owners > like to brag to their friends how much it costs to fix it every other week > whereas the vw owners brag how cheap their cars are to run. > > The reason to own a piano is very different than the reason to own a car. > The primary function of a piano is to produce good music. The secondary > goal should be appearance and snob appeal. For a car it should be the > primary function of transportation. Secondary should be snob appeal, > comfort etc. Transportation is not the main reason to buy a Ferrari, I > suspect. > > AND! Ferraris don't care who drives them! > > I used to compare a good stereo system and a cheap boom box to a VW and a > Cadillac, but I never liked the illustration, because I REALLY have a lot of > respect > for Volkswagens. At least the old beetles. > > My rant for the day. > > Carl Meyer > Santa Clara, ca. > > > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: <A440A@AOL.COM> > To: <pianotech@ptg.org> > Sent: Friday, January 05, 2001 6:01 PM > Subject: Re: Electric piano > > > > Horace writes: > > << Or, a > > > room full of 50's/60's vintage Wurlitzer and/or Kimball consoles to try > to > > > keep in tune? I am not sure which is more frustrating....except that, > as > > > one very well known technician once said: "Tuning a Kimball is like > trying > > > to nail Jello to a wall" - so, one starts tuning, and, when the big hand > > > goes around once, one stops and moves on, without having to worry about > > > > > > > And Billbrpt responds: > > >>I'm sure there are abundant numbers of > > piano technicians out there who have not had the kind of lofty career > > described by this man who could figure out how to tune and maintain a > group > > of Kimball 42" Consoles and have no trouble at all doing so.' > > It takes only the most basic set of skills, common sense and common > > knowledge.<< > > > > Greetings, > > It is obvious that a point has been missed. 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 of 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 cheapest tuners in any given locality. In my > > experience, (which was at one time considerable), their owners rarely are > > willing to pay top dollar for the techs with the most expertise. > > It is a great day in a tech's life when they have generated enough > > professional work to say "no more spinets or consoles" and specialize in > > grands. I would encourage all tuners to aspire towards continually > working > > to improve their skills, both technical and personal, and filling their > > clientele with better and better instruments, leaving the low-end work to > > the beginners. It is like comparing Volkswagon mechanics to Ferrari > > mechanics, the latter often begin as the former, but had the chops, > > opportunity, and ambition to attract better and better paying work. > > There is a difference between having 25 years experience, and having > one > > year's experience 25 times. > > Regards, > > Ed Foote RPT > > > > >
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