Piano from Hell

[David Ilvedson]

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Rob,

You were able to walk away from it.  Remember the time when you=
 would have actually tried to work on it...?   

David I.



----- Original message ---------------------------------------->
From: Rob Goodale <rrg@unlv.nevada.edu>
To: Pianotech <pianotech@ptg.org>
Received: Fri, 9 Jul 2004 10:54:40 -0500
Subject: Piano from Hell

I had one of my worst experiences as a piano technician this=
 morning.  I got a call from a guy who told me his piano needed=
 tuning and repair.  I agreed to take the job.  Upon arriving I=
 about fell over.
 
It turned out to be a 90 year old "Metropolitan" full upright. =
 It was the biggest pile of crap I have ever seen outside of a=
 land fill.  I immediately started in how old the piano was and=
 probably not worth fixing but he quickly cut me off and in a=
 heavy British accent told me to "please fix it".  The "thing"=
 had been painted white.  He was now in the process of painting=
 it gold which he proudly proclaimed was "restoring the finish". =
 Chunks of wood were missing out of the case.  I opened it to=
 find that the action was not even screwed in place, just laying=
 in the piano.  There was one broken treble string and the bass=
 strings were black with corrosion.
There was a crack running under the bass bridge and the apron was=
 loose.  There were broken bridal straps, broken hammers, and=
 several others that had been previously broken and reglued with=
 string.  most of the hammer return springs were out of place and=
 some were missing.  One sharp was missing, the key bushings were=
 worn out, someone did a poor job at recovering the keys, and the=
 pivot pin on the sustain pedal had been sheared off completely=
 and the bushing block was shattered.
 
He continued on about what a "great piano" it was as I looked at=
 the sad heap.  I calmly explained that there was simply nothing=
 left to fix, the piano was dead and what he needed was a new=
 piano.  He came back with "You Yanks, your all alike.  You throw=
 anything away.  In England we would never throw out a fine=
 instrument like this!"  Then he bragged about how he KNEW what=
 he was talking about because HE was a pianist!  (Oh golly silly=
 me, I should have worshipped his feet on the spot!)  Then he=
 proudly announced that he bought it from an auction so it MUST=
 be a good piano!  (Now there's reasoning for you).
 
I continued to explain that I was trying to save him money, that=
 it would cost him far more to repair than to replace it.  He=
 demanded to know how much.  I explained that it would cost=
 hundreds just to make it produce sound again and even then it=
 would be nothing but trouble.  "Oh no I don't want to do all=
 that, I just want it REPAIRED, you know, so that it works"! =
 (Excuse me didn't I just say that?  Do we need subtitles for=
 this conversation?"  I then explained that what the piano really=
 needed was a complete restoration and that would cost at least=
 $10,000.00.  "I'm trying to save you money, this piano is NOT=
 worth it, you really should consider buying another piano".  He=
 again reminded me that he was a pianist and that he knew this=
 piano was worth it and that it really didn't need that much=
 work.  Finally I just told him flat out that I couldn't help him=
 and that I really didn't have the time to spend three days=
 working on it.  His disposition continued to get worse as I made=
 a hasty exit.
 
Shame on me... after all this guy was a "pianist" and got it from=
 an auction so he MUST know what he's talking about!
 
Rob Goodale, RPT
Las Vegas, NV
 
 
 
 


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