VT PTG announcements

Upcoming Events:
*Wednesday, August 11, 2010 @1pm, PTG social potluck, located at Allan Day's
home in Williston. Please email rpsvt@juno.com if you are planning to
come. Please include in the email what dish you plan to bring.

*Tuesday, September 14, 2010 PTG Guild meeting, Please email
rpsvt@juno.com if you are able to host the meeting. Suggestions are
needed for the topic of the meeting.

Minute Highlights from the June 2010 meeting:
--Chris Rawson accepted the position of Secretary.

--A plan to hold future PTG meetings at different times and places was proposed as follows: Alternate meeting time and place each month. One month on tuesday at a southern location (possibly Hilbert Pianos), and the next month on Wednesday at northern location (possibly Allan Day's home). This proposal takes into account availability of different technicians. Data was collected over the previous several months. Tuesday would always be a southern location, and Wednesday would always be a northern location as a general rule.
More insight on this topic is always helpful to make the PTG meetings as effective as possible for all members.

--Rose gave a thorough and insightful powerpoint presentation on efficient business practices, using the latest technology.

May PTG Meeting

After an extended look at most of the 37 steps of Grand Piano Regulation the past two meetings, we will complete the final few steps this month. It has been a great set of technical sessions led by Ed Hilbert. Don't miss this last one!

Time: 3:30
Date: Tuesday, May 11th
Place: Hilbert Pianos
40 Pleasant Street
Bristol, VT



Any questions or comments, please e-mail vtptg (dot) now (at) gmail.com.

If any former Vermont PTG technicians do not wish to receive these blog updates, please click the UNSUBSCRIBE button at the bottom of the page.

April Meeting

This month, we have a change in date for our meeting. It will be on the 27th starting at 3:30 with a business meeting as usual. We will continue the technical on Grand Piano Regulation, completing the 37 steps of regulation.

Time: 3:30

Place: Hilbert Pianos
40 Pleasant Street
Bristol, VT

We have been discussing a new monthly meeting day instead of Tuesday. It seems as if Wednesdays work better for most members. We should finalize this decision in the business meeting.

Any questions or comments, please e-mail vtptg (dot) now (at) gmail.com.

PS: If any former Vermont PTG technicians do not wish to receive these blog updates, please click the UNSUBSCRIBE button at the bottom of the page.

March 9th Meeting

Hello Piano Technicians!

This month's meeting is on Tuesday, March 9, 2010 starting around 3:30 with the technical starting around 4:15 at Hilbert Pianos in Bristol.

Address: 40 Pleasant St, Bristol, VT

The third session would be actually going through the regulation procedure. Also, a discussion on the minimum and maximum parameters of various measurements and what happens when these get out of range - such as hammer blow, key dip, after-touch. etc. Jigs and tools to make the work easier and more accurate can be shown and explained.

Directions are available upon request.

See you there!

Greg Moore, RPT
Secretary for VT PTG

Part 2 Grand Piano Regulation

Tuesday, February 9th, the Vermont Chapter will be hosting the second part in a four part series on Grand Piano Regulation. The meeting begins at 3:30 PM at Hilbert Pianos on 40 Pleasant St. in Bristol. For directions and other information please call (802) 453-3743.

These opportunities can often come with a price tag, please take advantage of this FREE opportunity to improve and refine your skills.

Here is a description of the program, as described by Ed Hilbert:

February 9th: Part Two

The second presentation deals with what needs to be considered and done to many actions before they are really ready to be regulated. In other words, prep work such as cleaning, restoring proper friction, shaping of hammers, replacing or reshaping various parts (knuckles, whippen cloth, regulating button cloth, etc.) Only when this work is done is an action really ready for high level regulating.

Grand Regulation

Hello Piano Technicians!

Our next meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, January 12th, 2010 starting at around 3:30 (technical starts at around 4:15) at Hilbert Pianos in Bristol.

Please RSVP by replying to this email or calling 802-453-3743 (Hilbert Pianos) 40 Pleasant St, Bristol,VT. If you need directions, please reply and I’ll be happy to provide them to you. If the driving conditions are questionable on the day of the meeting, please call the Hilbert’s to see if the meeting is still on.

These opportunities can often come with a price tag, please take advantage of this FREE opportunity to improve and refine your skills.

Here is a description of the program, as described by Ed Hilbert:

JANUARY 12th: Part One

“As for this Tuesday, Emily and I will both be in the shop and can be available to any and all who would like to come and work on any aspect of piano work in which we may be able to help. In other words, have an open, hands-on for any who come. If we are lucky enough to have any of the more experienced technicians come then they too can share their pearls of wisdom.

If you are able to come, please email me or call (453-3743) to let me know you are planning to come. If you have a particular project or idea you wish to work on, let us know about that and we'll try to be prepared to help you with your particular interest. We'll be glad to see as many of you as can make it. We'll be here pretty much all day, but certainly from 3:30 (our regular starting time) on.

First, we should discuss basic concepts of how an action works and why it is designed as it is. We can discuss the artist's needs for control which includes ESP = Efficiency, Speed, and Power (the action conveying the artist's desires, repetition speed, and dynamic level range. How has the modern action evolved to answer these needs?

FEBRUARY, 9 2010 Part 2

The second presentation deals with what needs to be considered and done to many actions before they are really ready to be regulated. In other words, prep work such as cleaning, restoring proper friction, shaping of hammers, replacing or reshaping various parts (knuckles, wippen cloth, regulating button cloth, etc.) Only when this work is done is an action really ready for high level regulating.

MARCH 9th, 2010 Part 3

The third session would be actually going through the regulation procedure. Also, a discussion on the minimum and maximum parameters of various measurements and what happens when these get out of range - such as hammer blow, key dip, after-touch. etc. Jigs and tools to make the work easier and more accurate can be shown and explained.

April 13, 2010 Part 4

In the fourth session, we can discuss trouble shooting of various problems. While many of the common problems in actions not working well are cleared up in the preparation work and regulating, often actions just don't work properly because something fundamental (but not obvious) is wrong. This could include problems such as action geometry not being correct (think of parts that have moved, pot metal action brackets that have changed, etc.), incorrect parts having been installed by someone else previously, poor quality parts not functioning well, etc

October 2009 Meeting

This month we are planning on a trip to the Frederick Collection in:

ASHBURNHAM, MASSACHUSETTS, USA

Please check out: http://www.frederickcollection.org/

The purpose of the Frederick Piano Collection is to give musicians and music lovers a chance to hear works by major piano composers, played on pianos such as those the composers knew, and for which their music was conceived.

The Collection includes only grand pianos, by important makers whose instruments were highly regarded in their day, acquired in basically good condition, with most of their original materials intact (especially soundboards). It aims to match each instrument to a specific composer or generation of composers known to have used or preferred that make and vintage of piano. The period of pianos in the Collection extends from about 1790 to 1907, representing music from Haydn and Beethoven through the French Impressionists.

We look forward to seeing you there. For more information please contact visit the web site.

Details will follow as to timing and carpooling. Please tell us if someone can ride with you at vtptg (dot) now (at) gmail (dot) com.