Steven R. wrote:
"I seem to spend more time trying to talk people out of fixing their pianos than the opposite."I find myself doing the same thing. One thing I often mention is something like this: I make my living repairing pianos. If I could do $XX worth of repairs to your piano and present you with a piano that plays and sounds good, I would certainly do it. However one can easily apply $XXX worth of bandages to this piano and that would likely fix the few things that are broken on this piano, but you'd still have an 80 year old worn out piano that sounds and plays poorly. It's just not worth doing when there are so many recent model pianos in good or better condition at relatively low cost on the used piano market readily available.
"..."free" pianos can be really expensive..."
I say much the same thing: Free pianos are often like free puppies - you end up spending $1K at the vet before you even get home with your new friend.
"...giving graphic details of why it's not cost effective to refurbish parts (x's 88) that weren't well made in the first place. etc. etc. etc."
Related to that, when discussing what kind of piano to look for in a replacement in the under $1K range, one will usually find themselves looking at consoles. I suggest to them that most American consoles in that price range were made back in the 60s though 80s and were poorly designed and manufactured lowest-end model from any particular manufacturer. So poor were many of them that they barely worked the day they were born and from there they go downhill. Best to focus on Asian consoles.
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Terry Farrell
Farrell Piano Service, Inc.
Brandon, Florida
terry@farrellpiano.com813-684-3505
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Original Message:
Sent: 01-04-2019 17:54
From: Steven Rosenthal
Subject: To the dump to the dump to the dump dump dump
I agree with Roger, some weeks I seem to spend more time trying to talk people out of fixing their pianos than the opposite.
I think that's another video that would be valuable. It would save me many hours a year if I could refer people to a good video that explains why "free" pianos can be really expensive, giving graphic details of why it's not cost effective to refurbish parts (x's 88) that weren't well made in the first place. etc. etc. etc.
I can definitely help with the script on that one.
The point about using public service videos such as this to promote the PTG is a good one. The production values must be pretty high in this day and age. And a sense of humor wouldn't hurt. I'm thinking of those recent video instructions on board airlines regarding seat belts and what not; they got me watching a ritual I'd ignored for the last 30 years. It would be a good investment.
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Steven Rosenthal
Honolulu HI
Original Message:
Sent: 01-04-2019 17:35
From: Daniel DeBiasio
Subject: To the dump to the dump to the dump dump dump
Imagine how many clicks you would get if the video were titled "how to throw away your piano (and make money doing it)"
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Daniel DeBiasio
Brooklyn, NY
646.801.8863
Original Message:
Sent: 01-04-2019 17:24
From: Jurgen Goering
Subject: To the dump to the dump to the dump dump dump
I could not agree more with Daniel. This is an excellent topic for PTG videos. In a PTG-L thread, the idea to allocate some marketing funds to making videos did not get much traction, but the idea will eventually prevail, one can only hope. After all, we are now close to 20 years into the 21st century....
Look for "Creative marketing strategies" on PTG-L
But regarding piano disposal - just about anything is better than sending piano lead into the landfill or burning pianos.
Remove the keys (and damper underlevers on grands). The lead can be collected and taken to metal depots or similar. Lead is a valuable raw material and you can actually get money for it, while keeping it out of the environment (think Flint, MI). Win-win!
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Jurgen Goering
Original Message:
Sent: 01-04-2019 16:46
From: Daniel DeBiasio
Subject: To the dump to the dump to the dump dump dump
I've recommended that the PTG make several YouTube videos geared toward the general public to increase this websites visibility.
one of the titles I recommended was "how to throw away a piano"
Raising awareness about this environmental issue would be be an excellent undertaking for the PTG to engage in.
it might even help our website get more views per year than the "how to tune your own piano" video which features a ratchet wrench.
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Daniel DeBiasio
Brooklyn, NY
646.801.8863
Original Message:
Sent: 01-04-2019 15:43
From: Jurgen Goering
Subject: To the dump to the dump to the dump dump dump
The lead in 200+ pianos is around 500 pounds. Considering that lead as a neuro-toxin is measured in ppm (parts per million of the substance in the soil, water or air), that is a lot of nasty-nasty being put ito the environment.
I wish there was some way of raising the awareness of the level of hazardous lead in pianos that need to be trashed. Lead is also a valuable metal, for re-use and re-cycling.
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Jurgen Goering
Original Message:
Sent: 01-04-2019 14:04
From: Martin Snow
Subject: To the dump to the dump to the dump dump dump
To the melody line of the William Tell overture my primary piano mover called me last evening to let me know that his records for 2018 showed that he had hauled and disposed of 208 pianos to the local dump/transfer station,,,,YES!!!
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Martin Snow
Boston MA
617-543-1030
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