Thanks to Mahlon Ray for hosting the September meeting and to Guest Gary Trafton the sales representative for the Perzina piano and U.S. distributor, Piano Empire. Gary gave a brief description on the Perzina pianos background and shared a sales oriented DVD along with a discussion of the instruments features. The vertical has a very European flavor in tone, more mellow and warm. 
 

Mr. Gary Trafton, guest speaker and sales rep for Perzina Pianos

 Ron Boll bought the company that Julius and Albert Perzina started in 1871. He wanted to make the piano more affordable but built with European design. It is now built in Yantai, China where piano tuner/technician Hans Leffering is supervising. The action and hammers are made in Europe and  assembled in the piano in China. There are producing 1200 pianos in year 2005, 2500 pianos in the year 2006, and 4500 pianos in the year 2007. They are more affordable than Yamaha, Kawai, and Petrof pianos. Chris Vance is the US importer of the Perzina piano. All parts can be obtain through him. His number is 562-926-1906. Gary had advised that most customers who do research consult two known  websites. Larry Fine, and Piano Forum. These customers are influenced by these sources. Some of the notable features of the vertical include:

 1. Reverse crown soundboard on verticals with a free floating soundboard, firmly secured on three sides, top, right and left sides. Free floating on the bottom. 
2. Austrian white spruce soundboards 
3. Abel hammers used on the larger grands/Renner actions available on all grand models 
4. #1 bass string is 48.2" (compared to the Yamaha U1 the Perzina is 4" longer) 
5. German Square back design
 

Meeting Minutes and Chapter News & Notes

Meeting Minutes (excerpts)

Mark Ritchie opened the meeting at 7:40PM at Columbus Piano Leasing with our host for the evening Mahlon Ray, and guest speaker Gary Trafton members and guests present: Mark and Marilyn Ritchie, Dwight Hanson, Rick Miller, David Stang, Chris Altenburg, Ben Wiant, Kim Hoessly, Bob and Lou Grubb, Mike Varrone 

Sept. 30th  is the associates seminar. Rick Miller and Doug Brandt are planning to attend. 

Members are asked to complete the (PMA) Piano Manufactures Association questionnaire in the Journal.

Announced a reminder of the North Carolina Regional Conference  November 10-13, 2005  encourages all to attend.

There is now a web site for each chapter. Go to the piano page, type in your chapter... Then you will find a direct link to our web page. 

Discussed the Sherman Anti-Trust Act. Discussion followed as to what is the appropriate conduct. Chris Altenburg who attended the meeting as a delegate said that there was actually no discussion of exact procedures. He just said be cautious.

Butts & Flanges

Discussion follows as to the actual meaning of "Capo d’astro"  / Cap of the star 

According to Giraffes, Black Dragons, and Other Pianos by Edwin M. Good (Second Edition, 2001. Published by the Stanford University Press, ), capo d' astro is essentially a meaningless term (at least as applied to the piano) meaning "cap of the star." In other words it was a marketing term. Capo tastro is Italian for "cap of the key" which at least has some relationship to a component of the piano. Probably a more meaningful term would be "capotasto," also from Italian, mean d of the fingerboard." (According to the Merriam- Webster 11th Collegiate Dictionary.)  The capo tastro bar and the V-bar are two different things even if they are most often part of the same casting. the capo-tastro bar is formed in the bottom part of the mold, the V-bar in the top.
 

Chapter News & Notes

The October 18th  Columbus Chapter meeting will be held at Graves Pianos & Organ  5798 Karl Rd. Columbus at 7:30 PM. Our guest for the evening will be our Regional Vice-President Richard Bittner. 

The North Carolina Regional Conference will be held November 10-13, 2005 at the Sheraton Capital Center in Raleigh. It will be hosted by the Research Triangle Chapter. For additional information contact Tereasa Owens 606 Kentberry Dr. Charlotte, NC or e-mail  to  ncrcptg@msn.com 

March 10 &11, 2006 will be the next associates seminar at the home office. This years September seminar is filled. 

I want to thank Tom Harr for his series of articles “Acrosonic Observations” which concluded last issue. I hope that it might motivate some other Chapter members to make contributions to the Buckeye Backcheck. 
...

Right: Ron Kenreich and Ben Wiant at Columbus Piano Leasing for the September meeting.  Mahlon Ray treated us to a wonderful table of treats. The cheesecake and chocolate cake were delicious.  Thanks Mahlon!!  Below: David Stang chats with our newest prospective member Dwight Hanson. Dwight is a retiring commercial airline pilot.  Below Left:  left to right:  Lou & Bob Grubb make the drive from Gallipolis regularly to attend  Columbus Chapter meetings;  Rick Miller prepared the Perzina vertical piano for the evenings meeting.  Rick is a recent graduate of the University  of  Western Ontario school of Piano Technology
	...

NOTES FROM THE FRUGAL TECHNICIAN   - David Stang

Custom made Tuning Lever grip

Rather than buying a beautiful rosewood tuning lever with a palm-fitting grip, I bought the inexpensive plastic extension lever from Schaff, then used some wood-fill epoxy from Elmers, to create my own grip. The epoxy had the consistency of modeling clay, so I was able to shape it into a form that fits my palm perfectly. It's light, well balanced, and I spray-enameled it my favorite color. I imagine it won't last forever, but it seems to be working well until the day I can afford the rosewood. 
 

Balance Weight Set 

This idea came from Phil Walters. I use nickels and pennies as key balance weights. It so happens that a nickel weighs 5 grams, close enough for all practical   purposes anyway, and I sheared some pennies into 1-gram pieces. I used CA glue to assemble the nickels into 10,15, and 20-gram weights. (I will assume responsibility if this is an illegal defacement of currency.) 
 

ANOTHER TIP for a home-made balance weight set comes from Larry Newhouse in the monthly newsletter of the San Francisco Chapter of the Piano Technicians Guild     IN TUNE   Larry showed his home-made gram weight set, following suggestions by David Stanwood, RPT. Its made from copper tubing connectors that cost 29 cents each at a hardware store, filled with measured amounts of lead weights taken from keysets. The lead is simply hammered into the tubing for a tight press fit, avoiding potentially damaging exposure to lead if it were melted.  1/2" holes were drilled in scrap wood to make a carrying case. Though the cost outlay was less than $5, he did spend about 4 hours making it, but decided it was a worth doing to have a spare set for the vehicle, and the loss would be minimal if stolen!  -  Larry Newhouse 
 
 
 

News from the Bizarre Side

10K CON BY TUNER 

A PIANO tuner conned a plastic surgeon out of $10,450 and blew the cash on a prostitute, a court heard yesterday. Robin Attwood, 48, tuner for City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, promised Dr Mary Taylor he would buy and restore a vintage Steinway grand piano for her. But Attwood, of Cradley Heath, West Midlands, spent all the cash on a hooker he had fallen in love with, Warwick Crown Court was told. He was jailed for six months after he admitted to theft and to deception charges and asked for four other offences to be considered.