One of the main problems with spinets is not that they can't be made better. It's that for the most part, (there are exceptions), the people who own them, got them for free, or for very little money, and don't want to spend the money it takes to make them better. Not only that, but often there are so many things wrong with them, it's hard to know where to start. Here in Hawaii, most spinets are at least 30 - 40 years old, or older, and they have rusty stings, worn out actions, crusty dampers, pedals that don't work, and cases that look like hell. Where do you start? It's not that I don't want to make them better, even if a customers is willing to spend some money to make it better. But sometimes it's just not worth it to make even the most basic of repairs. Wim -----Original Message----- From: Joseph Garrett <joegarrett at earthlink.net> To: pianotech <pianotech at ptg.org> Sent: Sat, Sep 25, 2010 9:00 am Subject: [pianotech] Spinets Patrick said: "A few years before I moved back to Massachusetts, Ken and Dave Hagberg of the Boston Chapter had a batch of campaign buttons made up that read (in big letters) "SOS!" and the small letters filled out the message "Stamp Out Spinets!" I think they handed them out at a New England regional seminar." Patrick, IMNSHO, SOS should stand for Same Old Stupid!<G> The much maligned spinet does not deserve such negativity. This coming Monday, I'll be giving a class to my Chapter on How To Improve The Spinet. They are capable of being improved, believe it or not! Of course, there are bad spinets, just like there are bad Uprights, Grands, Overdamper Uprights, Square Grands and even Harpsichords!<G> The reality is this: If it weren't for spinets, most beginning piano tuners would have given up and found another job, because that's the majority of what they were given to tune!!! Even after my many years, I still do quite a few and am glad for the bucks, since the money's the same! (even tho most spinets are harder to tune than most other critters) The spinets of the 70's were not even a shadow of the ones of the 30's and 40's. The early versions were, mostly, well made and even had reasonable scales in them.Not to mention, some even had Ivory Key Tops! If all of the spinets disappeared today, there would be alot of out of work tuners! Think about it! Joe Garrett, R.P.T. (Oregon) Captain, Tool Police Squares R I -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: <http://ptg.org/pipermail/pianotech.php/attachments/20100925/dd7a0ae1/attachment.htm>
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