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VOL. LXXVHI. No. 6 Published Every Satirday. Edward Lyman Bill, Inc., 3S3 Madison Ave., New York, N.Y. Feb. 9, 1924
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Solving Reproducing Piano Service Problems)
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H E opening of a service school in Minneapolis last week for training tuners and repairmen to give
proper service on reproducing pianos following the first successful course of the sort held in Chicago
from October to December, and the announcement that plans have been completed for a similar school
to be held in Detroit, again brings to mind the importance of this work to the industry as a whole, for
the time has come when the success and future of the reproducing piano depends in a large measure upon the
sort of service that can be rendered the owner after the instrument has been installed.
The National Association of Piano Tuners has recognized the importance of this work by co-operating to
bring together the tuners and repairmen making up its membership, as well as piano mechanics outside its juris-
diction, for the purpose of organizing schools in various cities in co-operation with the executives and representa-
tives of the service department of the Ampico Division of the American Piano Co. That the repairmen them-
selves have a thorough understanding of the value of such instruction was amply demonstrated in Chicago
where over two score men gave up five evenings a week for two months to receive expert instruction in re-
producing piano adjustments and repairs.
In handling the reproducing piano from the service standpoint the trade is facing the same problem
that cropped up following the introduction of the player-piano when, for a long time, only men acquainted with
the problem of straight piano repair were available. The individual tuner then was not sure of his ground
and hesitated about devoting the necessary time to studying the player mechanism thoroughly. But when he
did finally become somewhat of a player expert, he found it difficult to convince either the dealer or the owner
of the instrument that player repairs consumed time and cost more than straight piano tuning and should be
paid for accordingly.
Profiting by this experience, a goodly number of tuners and repairmen have seen fit to study the repro-
ducing piano. But frequently their opportunities for analyzing the instrument and its operation were limited
to the pianos upon which they were called to do actual work. This condition has helped neither the tuner, the
manufacturer nor the dealer, for insufficient knowledge has generally worked to the disadvantage of the instru-
ment. But through the medium of well organized schools, it is possible to train properly a large number of
men in various sections so that not only will the instruments be kept in perfect operation to the satisfaction of
the owners, but their reputation will be enhanced to the advantage of future business.
This training of the repairmen of the country to understand the reproducing piano and its problems
thoroughly should not rest entirely upon the shoulders of any one .company, but should be participated in by all
manufacturers who feature reproducing" actions or complete instruments so equipped. It serves to solve one of
the outstanding prpblems of the reproducing field—that of taking care of the instrument after it is sold at a
minimum of expense to the manufacturer and dealer and at a minimum of inconvenience to the owner.
As has been said before in these columns, the day when the manufacturer could be expected to keep a
crew of trained service men traveling continually about the country at heavy expense is past. The plan is not
sound economically and moreover it proves unsatisfactory to the piano owner who is called upon to wait weeks
sometimes before the factory expert can reach his home and make a minor adjustment and in the interim see
the piano remain idle.
The reproducing piano has developed far past the experimental stage and is recognized as a very im-
portant feature in the trade. Having been established it is only fair that the individual who has invested
perhaps several thousand dollars in such an instrument should receive prompt service when its delicate mechanism
requires adjustment. The burden of such service rightly belongs on the shoulders of the local distributor who
should be in a position to furnish a qualified service man just as promptly as he furnishes a tuner and thus keep
his customers satisfied and enthusiastic.