An informative chat with a whimsical piano technician (REGISTERED, of course)

I had a delightful exchange with John Peters, RPT, about pianos, restorations, repairs, machine vs. aural tunings, and all that sprung from his wild imagination.

For instance,

John communicates an intense passion for tuning.. “I get paid to “meditate,” he insists. Then he quickly veers off with a one-liner about fixing squeaky pedals.

“I pour Drano down there,” he exclaims, as he demonstrates with a straight face.

Even with his lighthearted personality, John comes across as a capable tuner, having 40 years experience under his belt.

A one-of-a-kind interview opportunity presented when I needed my Steinway model 1098 upright tuned in readiness for sale. And as a committed follower of the gospel according to Larry Fine, (THE PIANO BOOK), I put my best foot forward for a prospective buyer. (Don’t forget to dust the piano after tuning it)

Never mind the usual claptrap that a piano will have to be tuned once settled into new home, so why bother tuning it? Would you sell a car that was ill-maintained? Not unless it was a give-away jalopy and you were asking beans for it.

My piano is a Cadillac of the upright variety, so it gets the loving attention/maintenance it deserves.

***

Incidentally, my reference to “squeaky pedals” in a Baldwin grand at my Hills teaching location, is extracted from a video about how to fix the problem. (???)

Go to 2:24 in the attached track to memorialize the procedure:

The technician doing surgery was NOT John Peters, incidentally, so henceforth, Peters will have the opportunity to provide a more permanent repair.

Thanks, John for the banter. You’re definitely a tech I’ll recommend around town.