registered piano technician

[Ron Nossaman]

> SO.....RPT tests are all well and good BUT what about being a piano tech
> AND a pneumatic player piano technician (rebuilding, that is) AND a reed
> organ technician (again rebuilding)

What about it? And what about piano rebuilding in general, and 
what about redesign and re engineering of everything from 
actions to soundboards and bridges to plates? These don't have 
anything to do with basic piano service.


> Anyway, my point is, RPT testing is only half the battle of the piano
> tech when it comes to dealing with a pneumatic player.

That's true, which is why the vast majority of player rebuild 
jobs I've seen have had little or nothing done to the pianos, 
which needed rebuilding at least as badly as the player. With 
the exception of the rare player grand, no one these days 
seems to be willing to spend what it takes to do the whole 
job, and as long as I can eat doing something better, I'll 
continue as I have for thirty years now, to turn down work 
doing just the player.


> Plus, where is the RPT equivalent to rebuilding an antique reed organ -
> of which I half done about 12 for customers.

I've done at least twice that many, but don't see the problem. 
A reed organ isn't a piano any more than a pneumatic player 
mechanism is, so why would the *Piano* Technicians Guild care 
about qualification testing in these areas when they don't 
have anything in place (nor is it likely to be possible) to 
qualify piano rebuilding? There is also some difference in 
technical complexity between rebuilding pianos and rebuilding 
foot powered harmonicas (magic as they are, they still are 
what they are).


> Since the guild seems, IMHO, to be geared to grands and -most- think the
> lesser of uprights and even lesser than that of players ... where in the
> guild is there an RPT status for pneumatic player technicians.

That's not the Guild. That's everyone. How many times have you 
heard "It doesn't have to be perfect, it's just a player"? 
This is the universal mantra for (often only partially) 
rebuilding the player mechanism and putting it back into a 
realistically non functional piano, and the attitude exists in 
the owners as well as in the techs.


> For those of you out there that know, being a pneumatic player tech
> -along- with having a family and responsibilities - there is virtually
> NO time to study for the tests, let alone wanting to pass only half of
> the puzzle (the piano side, leaving out the player side).
> 
> Respectfully, Duaine

Last time I looked, the RPT tests were for the most part a 
realistic set of minimal standard skills that a functional 
piano tech shouldn't have a lot of trouble with going into 
cold. I'm sure that anyone in the business who could be 
trusted with someone's piano could brush up on the details of 
the testing, and fill in the gaps without expending too much 
effort or neglecting the family overly much. I expect they 
could spare a couple of evenings in there somewhere with 
minimal trauma, perhaps putting off the latest Linux recompile 
for an evening or two and studying instead. Some of us 
continue to find the time to progress in our professional 
education, and I expect you could too. There are a million 
justifications for not doing something, but it all comes down 
to one thing. You just have to want to, and if you don't, you 
won't. In my case, most of what I've learned about pianos, 
player mechanisms, and pump organs came through association 
with the PTG and it's membership. I figure I owe them some 
support in exchange. If you don't, that's fine, but the PTG's 
not providing qualification testing in your specialty smacks 
more of excuse than reason. For instance, if they did 
qualification testing for pneumatic players, electronic 
players, pump organs, rebuilding, engineering, refinishing, 
moving, and humidity control, where would you find the time to 
study for any or all of these tests when you already can't 
manage the existing set for RPT?

Regards,
Ron N