June 2014

Bolton Convention IssueReports from all the classes

Did PTA President Brian Frost arrive at the Bolton Convention in style?

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June 2014 3

Editorial — 4President Writes — 5Membership News — 6Situation Vacant — 7Can an Elbow be Re-tuned? — 8Soundboard Decals — 9Voicing the ‘Older’ Piano — 10Why Didn’t I Think of That?! — 11

Piano Concert by Charles Tebbs — 12Action Geometry — 13

PTA AGM — 14

Kawai Voicing Masterclass — 18

Hands-on Upright & Grand Regulation — 20

Early Temperaments — 21

Pianolas Demystified — 22

Pianola Concert by Rex Lawson — 24

On the Road Trouble-shooting — 26

Council Report — 26

PTA Diary and Sponsors — 27

Fletcher & Newman Tools StandLast Drop Village, Bolton

Gregor Heller wins at Golf Tania Staite wins at Pucket

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I feel very honoured to be trusted with the PTA NewsletterEditorship and I hope that I can live up to the high standard set byMatthew. I would like to thank him very much indeed for all the helpthat he has given me in preparation for my taking over. It is only now that Iappreciate all the effort that goes into making a publication such as this. Please do keepsending in your articles and photographs. I’d also like to thank all the contributors,especially those who were persuaded at the last minute to write articles and AndrewJamieson and Andrew Day for their photographs.

The Convention in Bolton was a very enjoyable experience, particularly as theweather was so good, and there are many photographs included here which will serve asa reminder to those who were there and show those who weren’t what they missed.The cover photograph shows PTA President Brian Frost standing by a helicopter.Although not his, it could make commuting a bit quicker if it were!

This issue is very full as there are reports for every class and both superb concerts.I thoroughly enjoyed the classes I attended and after reading the reports, I wish I hadbeen able to go to a few more – perhaps next time. It was good to see the trade stands,and on the Saturday morning interesting to meet the young precision tool engineer,Gavin Hartley, who brought a selection of the tools which he had made.

Our thanks go to F&N for sponsoring the golf and pucket tournaments. The golf waswon this year by Gregor Heller of Heller Bass strings and the presentation of his awardwas made at dinner on the Friday evening. Gregor was also runner-up in the puckettournament which was won again by Tania Staite in a gala final in the bar later that night.

Finally, it is with sadness that we note the passing of Bob Pullar, a great characterand a regular at conventions; an obituary will appear in the next issue

EDITORIALANNE BURTON

For your advertising in PTA News, at very reasonable rates, please contact:Tania Staite, Flat 8, Deepdene, 15 Streatham Common Northside, London, SW16 3HQ.

Copy may then be emailed to the Editor at: ptanews@pianotuner.org.uk

The next deadline for PTA News is: Friday 18th July 2014.PTA News is the Newsletter for the Pianoforte Tuners’ Association. All views expressed are those

of the contributors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the PTA or the editorial team.Please address letters intended for publication to ‘The Editor’, preferably sent via email or

computer disc . If by email or disc please send photos separately to the text. Items can only be returned if accompanied by an SAE. Please obtain the necessary permission before submitting copyright items.

PTA News49 South Hamilton StreetKILMARNOCKKA1 2DTptanews@pianotuner.org.uk

June 2014 5

THE PRESIDENT WRITESBRIAN FROST

I would like to start by welcoming Anne Burton into her newrole as PTA News Editor. Anne has been working on theAssociation’s publicity and advertising campaign and will continueto carry out these duties as well as editing this excellent publication.Thank you Anne, on behalf of everyone, for agreeing to take over from Matthew Gough.

Those of you who attended the annual Convention at The Last Drop Village Hotelnear Bolton hopefully will have enjoyed it as much as Tricia and I did. As you will seefrom the reports in this issue, the classes were very well received – as was the evening’spre-dinner entertainment. On the Friday night after dinner, things were getting quitelively in the bar with a few people singing accompanied by a banjo and tenor Ukulelewhen, seemingly out of nowhere, Chris Jackson produced a Yamaha C1 – and thenthings got even more lively! It’s things like this that makes Conventions so specialand thank you to everyone who worked so hard this year to make everything runso smoothly.

The programme of PTA training days continue and we are delighted to announcethat a Yamaha training day has been booked for 4th October to be held in ReigateSurrey. We have not had a Yamaha training day before and I do hope you will be ableto attend. Details to follow but do put the date in your diary now.

Following a plea for new Members to join the Executive Council, three people whohave not served on Council before, were elected at the AGM last month. I would like towelcome Andrew Giller, Gary Whiteland and Michelle Rudd as new Council Members.I am very much looking forward to working with everyone this year.

PTA/YAMAHA TRAINING DAYIn association with Yamaha and the Piano Workshop, Reigate

Saturday 4th October, 2014At the Piano Workshop, Reigate, Surrey

This special day will be run with a Technician from Yamaha.Training will focus on their Silent and Disklavier systems.

Partners welcome to attend a meal (optional) ata local venue afterwards. Plenty to do in Reigate!

£45 for all PTA Categories, £65 for non-Members plus optional meal

RESERVE THIS DATE IN YOUR DIARYBooking Forms will be sent out with August Edition News

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MEMBERSHIP NEWSANNETTE SUMMERS

We welcome new PTA Student: S362 Mr K J Willoughby 27 Plantation Road NORTH WALSHAM Norfolk NR28 9XZ Tel: 07581 366422An application to become a PTA Associate has been received from: Mr A M Howard 144c Sulgrave Road London W6 7PU Tel: 020 3685 5083Please note these changes to the 2014 Year Book: 1139 Clare Tobin (new address; telephone and email remain the same) Mill Stone cottage The Mill House Chapel Amble WADEBRIDGE Cornwall PL27 6EN 1220 Anne Burton 49 South Hamilton Street KILMARNOCK KA1 2DT Tel: 01563 551 530 Mob: 07778 192105 Email: anne.burton@pianotuner.org.uk

1073 Mr A R Jeffers of Jeffers of Bandon has a new dialling code: 00 353 23 884 4332Please send all changes of address, telephone and email to The Secretary usingthe contact details on Page 27

Delegates at the Bolton Convention Spliced Bass String see p 26

June 2014 7

SOUTHERN SPAIN FULL-TIME JOB OPPORTUNITYROYAL PIANOS

Seeks a qualified piano tuner technician to join a friendlyfamily company which is growing fast. The potential candidate

would have to learn to speak Spanish.

Please apply to:Carlos Fernández.

ROYAL PIANOS SLPol. Industrial La Leala.

C/ Santo Tomas 2329631 Benalmádena-Málaga

España

Tel: +34 952 858 777Mobile: +34 647 415 562

www.royalpianos.comDistribuidor y Servicio Oficial

Bösendorfer-Yamaha.

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CAN AN ELBOW BE RE-TUNED? DR STEPHEN POPEREPORT BY MICHELLE RUDD

We give a lot attention to choosing good tools and techniques, but our mostimportant tools are our muscles. With a background in anaesthetics, general practice,pain problems, Chinese medicine, and Tai Chi, Stephen soon demonstrated hisexpertise when dealing with the mechanical problems of the human frame. With thehelp of his 'assistant' Horace, a full-sized skeleton, and a very impressive power-pointpresentation, Stephen introduced us to the perils of bad posture whilst tuning pianos.Stephen has a good sense of humour, and thus he kept us entertained as well asinformed! He told us that the chief purpose of anaesthetics is to wake us up—anyonewith a hammer can put someone to sleep! A straw poll told us that out of the tendelegates, five had suffered with Tennis Elbow, and others had suffered with othertuning related problems including a frozen shoulder, compressed vertebrae, achingneck and a locked jaw. We tend to think that our arms are doing all the work, but itseems that the whole of our body is supporting what the arm muscles do.

Tennis or Golf Elbow, which affects different sides of the same muscle, is animpact/stress injury caused by repetition; pounding keyboards makes us vulnerable tothis. Stephen encouraged us to keep our knees slightly bent whilst standing. Withreference to striking keyboards and thumbs on levers, he also advised that fingersshould always be curved and never straight. He emphasised that all movements shouldbe smooth and relaxed (think Tai Chi) and that we should not do any over-gripping ofthe lever. Stephen showed us some simple arm exercises which should be done beforeand after tunings, and possible during them in order to prevent problems.

During our second-half practical session, one tall delegate had to stoopconsiderably to tune an upright, but strangely enough, this did not cause him any backproblems. Stephen said that this is because the lever is also supporting his weight andtaking the strain from his back. One delegate who tunes grand pianos right-handedhas to reach a long way into the piano in order to pull (not push) the lever, whilstsomeone else who tunes left-handed is able to keep her arm closer to her body, whereit can be given more support.

Tips: Shoulder blades should be relaxed, not tight or collapsed. Try not to bendyour neck closer to the strings, but keep your head well-balanced above your body.Your head should always be tilted when looking down: bending necks cause so-calledDowagers Hump, particularly in women. Don't think that your hands are doing all thework; muscles work in teams up the arms, into the shoulders and your core muscles.Heat, stretching, and massage are all good for muscles. Muscles become 'programmed'to do things, and too much repetition of one set of movements causes them tocomplain when we suddenly ask them to do something else. When sitting, don't crossyour legs. Take care to prepare yourself by setting stools at a comfortable height.Rigidly straight backs are not good, despite what the armed forces used to encourage.Whilst concentrating on tuning, don't tense your jaws. Gently playing the piano after atuning is a good way of cooling down our muscles and letting them be used in adifferent way to counteract all the previous 'programming'. We need to be constantlyaware of what our bodies are doing, but this can be difficult when concentrating on

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SOUNDBOARD DECALSPAUL SHEARMAN, SPONSORED BY VALE PIANOSREPORT BY ROBERTA CARADINE

The class was given by Paul Shearman who has been working for Vale pianos for thepast 11 years but prior to entering the piano industry, Paul completed a three-year productand graphic design course.

Though a brief introduction Paul established that 40% of the attendees had experiencewith using the replacement decal options available from the USA, whilst half of those hadexperimented with producing their own decal system. The remaining 60% were interestedto increase their knowledge in what options were available.

Paul explained how the decal first appeared in porcelain production and was thentransferred (pardon the pun) to other areas of production. The earliest varnish decals wereproduced on duplex paper, which is no longer available, however the application method ofthose early decals is still used with the varnish decals available through the Pierce PianoAtlas today.

Paul and Vale Pianos had been frustrated by the limited choice of decals available forEuropean instruments and using Paul’s experience from product design developed a systemto reproduce decals for their restoration projects by photographing the original decals priorto repair. Paul proceeded to explain and demonstrate how to obtain a good image with adigital camera and computer software prior to transferring the image to a special paper andapplying an adhesive backing. Those attending were then given the chance to apply aselection of decals to pre prepared boards. This was not as easy as it looked and at onepoint there was a row of technicians standing at the window squinting through assortedeyewear whilst trying to remove the backing sheet from the adhesive layer. The classconcluded with a Q & A session which also evoked the old debate about restoration /conservation as opposed to reproduction / remanufacture.

This was a highly informative and interesting class and I thank Paul, Vale Pianosand the Convention organisers for offering this unique opportunity to glean suchvaluable information.

P.S. As a spin off of the class Vale Pianos are considering the possibility of offering adecal production service for those who do not have sufficient demand to acquire thehardware and software to produce their own.

our tuning! I think this class is a 'must'for all piano tuners, particularly thosestarting out in our profession.

Further useful information can befound in “The Trigger Point TherapyWorkbook – Your Self-TreatmentGuide for Pain Relief” by Clair Davies.

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VOICING THE ‘OLDER’ PIANOKEN FORRESTREPORT BY ANNE BURTON

With a colourful-casework Chappell grand piano, kindly supplied by ValePianos, and armed with a very carefully prepared 11-page-hand-out, we were able topay full attention to Ken rather than having to spend time taking notes. It soon becamevery clear that the approach to voicing an older piano would not be the same as that fora brand new instrument (fitted with top of the range hammers all in excellentcondition) where you can use the same process all the time.

The class was divided into stages with a discussion of the general principles first,interspersed with demonstrations by Ken and later in the afternoon, some practicalhands-on opportunities for participants. We identified a noticeable drop in the qualityof tone over the bass break and this area was singled out for improvement. I have usedthe titles from the notes in the following account.

“The Toning Process” began with debate on ‘Toning vs Voicing’, ‘What is pianotone?’ and ‘Exactly what is toning?’ ‘Toning’ being the British piano trade’s term and

‘voicing’ more American, we wondered whether there was some German influence atwork here perhaps accounting for the difference in terms? However on furtherinvestigation, the German for toning is “Intonieren” interestingly, piano tuning is

“Klavierstimmen” with “Klavier” meaning piano and “die Stimme” meaning voice.Next Ken passed his tools round the class for closer inspection and we had aninteresting discussion on whether or not to iron hammers. Ken’s simple tool, which hecalled an absolute-casting jig, used as an aid in the regulation process, was muchphotographed. Three purposes of the toning process were identified as optimising thespeaking of the hammer, enabling even levels of tone and production of an overalldynamic range. ‘Approaches to toning’ revealed the divide in opinion and approachesresulting from how one’s technical skills were acquired, whether in a restorationworkshop or factory trained and these differences were pointed out now and again aswe went along.

In “Preparation for Toning”, preliminaries include the question ‘Is the piano goodenough to be toned?’ where as well as our own, the customer’s interests have to betaken into consideration.

The first thing to do is to ‘Look over the strung back’ which may highlight someproblems meaning that toning will do nothing e.g. loose ribs, and this sparked thediscussion ‘When to do nothing?’ We discussed ‘Regulation’, ‘Tuning’ and ‘Re-facing’of hammers and Ken shared some excellent tips with us during this very importantstage. The tip “make sure that the action moves out and in easily” was appropriate assome paint impeded the removal of the action. With the aid of some diagrams, theacoustical phenomenon of ‘double decay’ was clearly explained as was how the pianomanufacturers got around this. I also learned what was meant by the term “swingingthe bridge”.

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WHY DIDN’T I THINK OF THAT?!ALLEN WRIGHTREPORT BY KEITH OWEN

In the practical application of various techniques, “Carrying out the Toning”,Ken demonstrated and gave advice throughout this part of the afternoon. He alsoprovided participants with the opportunity to practise re-facing the hammers whichhad been worn flat. I was very taken with Ken’s use of the word ‘Optimisation’which he defines as facing to the individual strings. The discussion about stringlevelling made us consider the merits and dangers of lifting old strings. I learneda considerable amount (too much to include here) in the section entitled ‘Needlingand doping’.

The concluding sections ‘Where does toning end?’ and ‘Timing’ reminded us thatour work is never finished and that while we are listening all the time, the ear mustbe fresh to tone. On playing the piano after all the work on the hammers, wediscerned a very much improved bass with an evenness of tone. We realised howmuch improvement work can be carried out before a needle is used and this class hasgiven us the confidence to make such an improvement on an older instrument.

Our thanks go to Ken Forrest for his excellent class and wonderful set of notesand to Vale pianos for supplying the colourful ‘older piano’ to work on.

It occurred to me that I might save a lot of time and printers' ink if I listed thesubjects we didn't cover in Allen Wright's excellent, entertaining (and completely soldout) class. Allen had categorised all the topics in a useful three page list which hehanded out at the beginning, together with contact details of suppliers where items werecommercially available.

We talked about tips and tricks, from the subtle and clever to the "how-on-earth-did-that-never-occur-to-me-before-because-it's-actually-blindingly-obvious-when-you-think-about-it", under a variety of headings—cleaning, sanding and lubricating; keys and keywashers; storage and transport of solvents and glues; stringing; uses for tubing, bothplastic and metal; different types of torch; measuring and marking; miscellaneous cleverploys; the list goes on! Allen had brought along examples of both home-made andcommercial tools and materials to pass round as well

All in all we coverd 66 topics in a morning, which is pretty good going; but Allen'slist actually contained 114 items and there simply wasn't time to go through everything;I hope this class becomes a regular feature of Conventions; it was incredibly useful andI can't recommend it highly enough for seasoned professionals and students alike.

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PIANO CONCERTGVEN BY CHARLES TEBBS, SPONSORED BY CROWN PIANOSREPORT BY BARNEY UNWIN

We had the absolute pleasure of a wonderful recital byCharles Tebbs on the first evening of the convention. Theroom was in a converted barn which had wood panellingthat completely enhanced the acoustics of the piano. Thepiano was a magnificent 1930’s Bechstein 7’10” Model DGrand that had been beautifully restored by Phil Taylor andGavin Crooks of Crown Pianos. Their restoration includedfitting a new roller action and replacing the old tied mechanismwith modern capstans.

The program started with two short pieces by Claude Debussy, the “Prelude” fromSuite Bergamasque and the lesser known “La Terrasse des audiences du clair de lune”from the second book of Preludes. This was followed by a couple of short pieces by thepianist himself the first entitled “Stalactites and Stalagmites” and the second was animprovisation on Gershwin’s “Summertime”. All of these pieces showed off the piano infull with the pianist giving us a verbal introduction explaining his choices of musicexhibiting his adventurous composition and his improvising prowess. His rendition of

“Summertime” would have any jazz fan purring with admiration.The jazz theme continued with a switch to the “Menuet sur le nom d’Haydn” by

Maurice Ravel with the typical jazz-like harmonies on display. This was followed by apiece from Joseph Haydn himself the “Adagio from Sonata in E flat Hob. XVI/49Genzinger” which being a slow movement gave us all a pause for breath. Then followedthe two preludes 7 and 8 from the first book of preludes by Claude Debussy. Preludenumber 7 was the wild “Ce qu’a vu le vent d’ouest” (What the west wind has seen) whichwas a demanding depiction of a stormy wind while prelude number 8 was the very well-known and contrasting “The girl with the flaxen hair”.

Next was a piece by Charles Tebbs written in tribute to his wife entitled Ballade forEmma. This was followed by Chopin’s Ballade No. 1 in G Minor which was performedwith great gusto. To round off the evening we were treated to an encore of Debussy’s

“Clair de Lune” which very conveniently brought us back to where we started. Theprogram was well conceived with threads of impressionism, jazz and improvisationrunning throughout the concert. All in all, a perfect way to enjoy an hour of piano music.

Crown Pianos Phil Taylor, Gavin Crooks and Victoria Helliwell

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I have a confession to make; I’d beenanticipating this class with a mixture of eagerness and apprehension, which might soundparadoxical, but the reason for my ambivalence is simple—despite the four year course onwhich I embarked at the London College of Furniture in 1980 was 'Piano Design andConstruction', the standard of teaching of the design element of that course was frankly poorand I left college barely none the wiser. Consequently, I was slightly anxious this classwould leave me with the bemusement of thirty four years ago, although one encouragingthing was that I have attended a previous class of Phil's, so I knew he would be able totransmit his knowledge. However, that consolation then left me with an additional anxiety –if I then came out of Phil's class no more cognisant, I would start questioning my ownintellectual capacity. Happily, Phil is not only exceedingly knowledgeable on the subject ofthe geometry of the piano action, he is a wonderfully natural communicator and generous inimparting his knowledge.

We looked at the three levers of the grand action; the straight line ratios and the arcs oftravel. Having established the fundamentals, we considered what determines heaviness orlightness of touch. After all, that is what matters to the pianist and the pianist's satisfactionis of paramount importance. Phil also reminded us that understanding the geometry of theaction helps diagnose 'problems', or indeed perhaps discover something we perceive as aproblem is not necessarily a problem at all! We also considered the anomalies in actiondesign. Incidentally, I particularly like Phil's renaming of the drop screw which is – 'thehammer rise limitation screw in the repetition phase in the action'!

One absolutely fantastic aid to the class was a CAD (computer aided design) animationof the grand action. Phil rather impressively taught himself CAD in order to build an actionfor an old Bechstein concert grand (which was brought to the convention and performedupon stunningly at both recitals). We were able to watch the grand action operating in slowmotion and frozen at any point, enabling us to locate the precise position of any action partat any moment in the movement. This visual aid taught me more in a single morning thanseveral years of three hour lectures all those decades ago. This animation was also quitemesmerising, although at one point Phil magnified the key at the fulcrum to the point whereall that was visible was a small proportion of the pivoting key. He then slowed it down tovirtually static, at which point I curiously started having the bizarre notion of sea sickness!

We are truly privileged in the calibre of classes offered at PTA conventions. One smallgap in knowledge is plugged at every class (as Keith Owen succinctly put it). Phil's classwas particularly illuminating and his action animation was a marvellous contributor to myepiphany. Phil is currently designing a new upright action and when he delivers a follow upclass on the geometry of the upright action, I shall certainly be signing up.

PS. Those who were as impressed as I with the sound of the bass section on hisBechstein might be interested to know he winds his own bass strings and offers anonline/same day despatch bass string service at www.pianobasstrings.co.uk

ACTION GEOMETRYPHIL TAYLORREPORT BY TANIA STAITE

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PTA AGMANNETTE SUMMERS

MINUTES OF THE ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING OFTHE PIANOFORTE TUNERS' ASSOCIATION HELD AT

THE MERCURE LAST DROP VILLAGE HOTEL, BOLTONON SATURDAY 17TH MAY, 2014 AT 11.30 a.m.

Those PresentMr B Frost – President (in the Chair), Mr A Jamieson – Treasurer,Members, Associates and PTA students (see list in Minute Book)

President's Opening RemarksThe President welcomed everyone to the Annual General Meeting.

Apologies for AbsenceThese were received from: Terry Twissell, Neville Tostevin, Shirley Trinkwon,Adrian Carpenter, Phillip Kennedy, John Tyrrell, John Lambert, Malcolm Hodsdon,Yumi Shigeno, Kevin Brice, Gordon Nelson, Roger Tostevin, Andrew Gillerand Gary Whiteland

Minutes of the 2013 AGMThe Minutes of the Annual General Meeting held at The Days Hotel, Bournemouth on

4th May, 2013 and published in PTA News June 2013.One correction: The vote regarding Honorary Membership at the last year’s AGM had

not been unanimous. There were two votes against.Minutes were proposed by Mr L Flisher, seconded by Graham Cantrill

and adopted unanimously.President's Report

I am pleased to report that over the past 12 months Council has been very active onyour behalf.

2013 was our ‘Centenary Year’ which was celebrated in style in Bournemouth lastMay. Over £1800 was raised at the pledges auction after dinner and I can report that adonation of £900 has been sent to Help Musicians UK (formally The MusiciansBenevolent Fund). The remaining £900 will be used in the PTA Student fund.

Instructions have been given to a new Web Design company to completely redesignthe PTA Website. It is over 15 years since the PTA launched the current website and itwas felt that a new approach is needed. I am hopeful that the new site will be up andrunning before too long and we will all be enjoying the new features that will be graduallyrolled out over the next 12 months. These will include a new discussion forum, an emaildistribution list to help reduce postage and administration costs, and also the ability forMembers to update their own contact information and which areas they cover for tuning.

The PTA Year Book is also undergoing a makeover. We have found someonecapable of writing the necessary code to merge the post town information direct from theMembership database into the Year Book. This, hopefully, will mean that data in theYear Book will be more accurate. However it does require us all to make sure our contactinformation and post town list is correct and up to date – this information will be shownon Members’ renewal invoices each January. I hope you like the new layout and the wayusers can now find a qualified tuner in various parts of the UK.

June 2014 15

As you will see from the agenda for this meeting the Code of Conduct (COC) has beenreviewed and will hopefully be adopted. I wrote to all Members in February explainingthe review the COC has been through since its introduction 3 years ago. My thanks go toJohn Lambert who has spent many hours ensuring that as much of the feedback receivedfollowing the adoption of the original document was incorporated into the revised COC.Without John’s dedication we would not have this excellent version, which if adopted will,I hope, serve the Association for many years to come.

The issue of introducing postal voting was raised by some Members on one of the PTAdiscussion forums. This was discussed at length at a Council meeting and the idea was notaccepted for the time being. I did explain in a ‘The Presidents Writes’ article in PTAN thereasons behind not taking the idea forward.

Application forms for all PTA categories have been redesigned and updated. Indiscussing this we decided to propose doing away with all Entrance Fees but noticed thatthere was a link between the Student Registration Fee and the Entrance Fee. We thereforetook the opportunity to look at the PTA ‘Student Rules’ and were able to bring moreclarity to them. The proposed rule changes now make clear the timescales, and meaning,of student training periods and the fees and subscriptions involved. The rule changes are tobe proposed at this meeting.

We received a request from a PTA Member to contact the Government Skills Ministerabout information and help in setting up an apprentice scheme. With assistance from mylocal MP we finally received a response. Anyone requiring the helpful information thatwas received should contact the PTA Secretary who has the information on file.

There have been 3 very successful training days held this year. A Fazioli one inOctober at Jaques Samuel Pianos in London, a Kawai one in Scotland in December, and aSteinway & Sons one in March in London. Over 60 technicians attended these 3 eventsand more training days are planned. Training days not only give us the opportunity toincrease our knowledge about our day to day work they are also an excellent vehicle tointroduce prospective new Members to the Association. More training days are beingplanned, and I am pleased to report that we are forging stronger links with the trade as awhole which is essential for the future wellbeing of the Association. I do hope you willsupport future events as enthusiastically as those already held.

Following discussions at Council, and receiving Members’ comments, it was decidedto operate a PTA Twitter account. Twitter is a useful networking tool and can reach nonPTA Members. My thanks to Colin Crawford for operating the twitter posts and hopefullyit will enable the Association to reach out wider than our current Membership.

I have attended two Europiano (EP) meetings – one in Switzerland in November andthe other at the Frankfurt Music Fair in Germany in March. The EP Congress will be heldin Moscow next year from 9th-14thSeptember. Because of the costs involved the PTA hasyet to decide whether to send a delegate. The EP magazine has gone from strength tostrength and despite having to appeal to various language groups within EP it now hasmany articles in English. Council has decided that there is to be no further opting out ofthe magazine – other than those who have already opted out. For a specialist trademagazine it offers really good value and the technical articles are excellent.

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The June issue of PTA News (PTAN) will see Anne Burton in her new role aseditor. Matthew Gough has edited PTAN for 5 years and has done an excellent job indeveloping this very important periodical — thank you Matthew. You may beinterested to know that Matthew has placed all his issues as PTAN editor in theMembers’ area of the website — it is hoped to increase this back catalogue in time.I wish Anne all the best in her new role.

It is always hard to single out individuals who have helped in making my job asPresident easier than it could otherwise have been. A good vice-president goes a longway and I would like to thank Matthew Gough for his help and support over the pastyear. As I know from previous experience doing this job it is not always plain sailing,and Matthew is always available at the end of a telephone to discuss the various issueswe have had to navigate over the past year and is very willing to share the workload.Thank you Matthew.

Andrew Jamieson does an excellent job as Treasurer. Somehow he manages tonegotiate an annual premium for our public liability insurance (PLI) which showsonly a small increase year on year. Offering PLI to our Membership is an extremelyimportant privilege of PTA Membership and thanks must go to Andrew for keepingthe cost of this under control.

Thanks also to PTA Secretary Annette Summers. Annette works tirelessly behindthe scenes and I would like to thank her on behalf of Council for all she does for usand all of you.

Thanks also for those who carry out delegated duties. The Convention team workthroughout the year to deliver the highlight of the PTA year, The Annual Convention.Thank you to Andrew Jamieson, Lewis Flisher and Annette Summers for all your hardwork over the past 12 months. I would also like to thank Reg Montague for theLibrary, Tania Staite for organising the Year Book and PTA News advertising, AnneBurton for overseeing our advertising campaign, and John Lambert, who in additionto working on the COC is the PTA Complaints coordinator — thankfully there havebeen few complaints to deal with in the past 12 months. I would also like to thankeveryone else on Council who freely give up their time to attend Council Meetingsand work in the background.

Sadly we have lost some Members this year who have either passed away orretired, also some PTA Students have not pursued their career in the piano trade.We cannot deny that finding new Members is no easy task, but on a more positive noteMembership is still healthy and there are several applications in the ‘pipeline’.My thanks go to Rick Ohlendorf for all his hard work as PTA test coordinator, andthank you also to Steinway & Sons in London for providing the test venue.

Thank you to everyone who has supported me over the past year and I lookforward to working with you again in the ‘new’ Council year.

Brian Frost , PTA President May 2014

Adoption of this report was proposed by Keith Owen, seconded by Martin Lockeand adopted unanimously.

June 2014 17

Treasurer's ReportMr. A Jamieson presented his Treasurer's report (see Minute file).Adoption of the accounts was proposed by Ken Forrest, seconded by Roberta Caradine

and adopted unanimously.Honorary Membership

Prior to the meeting a special resolution had been received (proposed by the ExecutiveCouncil) to award Mr Malcolm McKeand with Honorary Membership. One Memberagainst and there were two abstentions, otherwise all in favour and carried.

Election of new Executive CouncilThe following were elected as there had been no other nominations:

President – Mr Brian FrostVice President – Mr Matthew GoughTwo Trustees – Mr John Lambert, Miss Tania StaiteCouncil Members – Mrs A Burton, Mr L Flisher, Mr S Venn, Mr A Giller,

Ms M Rudd, and Mr G WhitelandDetermination of Fees and Subscriptions from 1st January 2015

The Fees and Subscriptions proposed by the Executive Council were carried unanimously.Student Entrance fee £10.00Subscriptions:Members, including Europiano £165.00 increased to

£190.00 if unpaid within 30 days of the due date.Associates £115.00 increased to

£140.00 if unpaid within 30 days of the due date.Patrons (minimum donation) £80

There were two abstentions, otherwise all in favour and carried.Student Rule Change

Student Rule Changes, as previously mailed to all Members, were accepted. All infavour and carried.

Code of ConductCode of Conduct Changes, as previously mailed to all Members, were accepted. All in

favour and carried.There being no other formal business the Annual General Meeting was closed at 12.10p.m.Date and venue of next AGM – 16th May 2015 at Three Counties Hotel, Hereford.

After the meeting closed Member David O’Donnell suggested a Google link for thePTA Find A Tuner, as there is currently no connection and he felt that PTA Members maybe losing business to non-Members. Costs for this to be discussed at a future ExecutiveCouncil Meeting.

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This class was introduced by Neil Sale from Kawai, with a professionally prepared 10minute film about the factory. ‘First class preparation’ is I think a phrase that could sum upthe whole class, both in presentation from Kawai and what Kawai hope that we will achievewith their instruments. This was contrasted with Yamaha, who are much bigger and weresaid to have a different philosophy. Kawai nevertheless employ 500 people and make 40grand pianos per week.

Anyone who has not met Manabu is in for a rare treat. If you have the opportunity,please make the effort, you’ll be pleased you did! Despite somewhat hesitant English, hemade every stage look easy, but also has a humility which gave life to the class. There werea few basic rules:

1. The best voicing is achieved through meticulous regulation.2. Reduce friction by lubricating every action part, not just metal parts.3. Try NOT to needle the hammers if at all possible.4. The technician (i.e. you!) decides on the quality of the piano, only listening to the

client’s input afterwards.5. If any traditional method doesn’t seem to work so well, don’t be scared to try

something else.6. Manabu is still looking for the answer. Maybe next year he will have a different

solution (whatever the problem).Manabu has been in UK since February 2013, and is already known for his wit. One of

his regular phrases, used when someone expresses a more or less common belief about the‘right’ or ‘only’ way to do something, is “As you like”. For some reason, one of Tania’s

questions received the repost, “I don’t care.” You had to be there!If you are reading this, presumably you weren’t there, so here are afew of the tips, in no particular order, which Manabu demonstrated.

1. He used a mirror on a little stand, placed behind the dampers,to check their regulation.

2. Once the hammers have been shaped, you still need to seethe strike point on the hammer nose. So use a piece of carbon paper,face down over the hammer, play the note firmly once, remove

carbon paper and there you go!3. Kawai hammers are made to be needled, if necessary, from the battery up (that’s the

back of the hammer, near the staple). Doing it the other way, recommended by othermanufacturers, can lead to the rich, powerful sound from the cushioning, being lost.

4. The hammers that strike single bass strings require denser felt, to give more punch tothe sound. Manabu used loose sandpapers with 600 and 800 grit. He used a sanding boardabout 4” x 5”, with 1000 grit stuck onto it. His loose sandpapers had a piece of cellophanestuck to the back.

KAWAI VOICING MASTERCLASSMANABU ARIMORI SPONSORED BY KAWAIREPORT BY ERIC SIEVERS

Opposite, the Scottish Contingent:Bill and Helen Gray, Graham and Louise Muir and Andrew Jamieson

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5. Manabu used the bass key-block, unfinished side down, to remove dust from,and harden the surface of, the said hammers. He donned a face mask, held the blockabove the hammers, and gave the keys some heavy thumping. The resulting dust cloudwas not as dangerous as Hiroshima, and definitely more fun!

6. The use of your lunch ticket (or a cloakroom ticket or similar) is excellent fortesting the adjustment of the soft pedal shift.

7. Taking the action off the keys (sorry, this was the first job) was necessary inorder to buff the capstans. A polish, with rubbing compound added, was used,followed by a lubricant. This lubricant was also applied to the dolly felts, using asquare block of hammer felt, suitably impregnated. I have purposely omitted the exacttype of lubricant, because a) Manabu will probably change his mind by the time this ispublished, and b) maybe I should leave something for you to find out when you attendhis next class!

He made one plea – Please use the right size screwdriver for the screw head,whatever you are doing. Pozidrive is not the same as crosshead, and they both come indifferent sizes.

In conclusion, Mark Beglin played some of his favourites for 5 minutes(excellent!), and Neil stood a round of drinks in the bar, having gone to the trouble ofgetting it opened for the purpose (even better!). I had the impression that Kawai wantsto encourage us all to get to know what we can do, and they are really happy to help usachieve the best possible results. It was clear that it’s ok to set up a piano withhammers setting off 2mm or 3mm from the string. The choice is yours, and whateveryou do is right for you. They really believe that growth comes through training,ensuring that every piano is well set-up, leading to improved sales figures.

We need to enter into this spirit, and take every opportunity to learn how to dobetter work. Thank you Neil, Joe, Manabu and Kawai!!

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HANDS-ON UPRIGHT & GRAND REGULATIONBARRY CARADINE SPONSORED BY BARRY CARADINE PIANOSPECIALISTREPORT BY GRAHAM MUIR

This class was an ideal refresher course on the main aspects of upright and grandregulation. Although there was no time to deal with damper regulating, Barry gave usan explanation on all the rest.

We were each given a small straight edge, a touch piece, three touch gauges andtwo magnetic strips,1 mm and 1.5 mm, to adjust the set-off. I'd never come acrossthese strips before, and thought them a nifty way of measuring set-off and would beideal for doing sections on a grand. I saw them later on the Fletcher & Newman standin longer strips.

In the first half of the day, we were each equipped all with afully-working one octave upright action model. These were made byDanemann many years ago and even had tuneable strings! We wereguided through the usual steps from the key-bed and depth of touchto the check adjustments. Although we were all familiar with thesethings, it was good to be reminded of the finer details. For example,on key easing; ensure that the whole motion of the key through thebat pin is evenly eased by angling the key easing pliers slightly.When adjusting the bat pin, we were told to go under the baizewasher as this prevents nicking the pin and causing unwanted wearon the key bushing.

Most of us work on upright pianos most of the time so it was good to go over thebasics whilst picking up some new tips and also learning about doing the same thingsin different ways.This also applied to the grand regulating class in the afternoon, when I heard someonecomment that they were glad to know certain procedures could be carried out in aslightly different order, saving them time and hassle. The grand models were producedby Petrof with actions that could slide out quite easily.

We covered key easing to repetition spring adjustments.  Throughout the day, wewere encouraged to ask questions and especially to get a 'feel' for a good touch, rather

than rely on strict measurements, whichdon't always work consistently or very well.

Barry was very thorough with hisdemonstrations and always helpful whenanswering our questions. This, combinedwith practical hands-on work for each of usmade it a very worthwhile class to attend.

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EARLY TEMPERAMENTSROGER BLACKBOURN SPONSORED BY R MORLEY & Co. Ltd.REPORT BY ROY O’NEIL

For anyone who has ever wondered how to tune thosequirky old instruments with the oddly shaped wrestpins, thisclass was the place to be. The small group quickly took on theform of a collaborative discussion, and decided to concentrateon the practical application of ‘early’ temperaments, ratherthan getting lost in the complicated theoretical bywaysof the subject.

Roger had brought along a John Morley virginal which heused to demonstrate the differences between equal and

unequal temperaments. An unequal temperament will have ‘good’ and ‘bad’ keys; the‘good’ keys are more beautiful, and the ‘bad’ keys more dissonant, than theirequivalents in ET. With a large number of temperaments to choose from, the tuner canmake a creative contribution to the quality of the music being performed. Forexample, a piece by Rameau played in an old French temperament features some trulyblood-curdling modulations before resolving to a pleasant cadence at the end. Thisraised the question of how other musicians in an ensemble react to the keyboard tun-ing, so we were lucky to have PTA student Lorraine Bolger, who is a very experi-enced cellist, on hand to provide a string player’s perspective. Lorraine confirmedsomething I have long suspected, that band members play in their own way and moreor less ignore the keyboard tuning, as long as the results are musically acceptable.

After some debate, we agreed that the most versatile temperament for earlykeyboard tuning is probably ‘Werckmeister III’, which has the advantage of soundingbest in the most commonly used keys, as well as being easy to tune because it containseight pure fifths.

Following the coffee break, it was timefor us to try tuning the virginal in a variety oftemperaments while Roger gave somepractical tuning tips: namely to be sure wewere turning the right pin, as the thin, fragilestrings are easily broken; and to move thehand away from the tuning hammer beforechecking the note, as the slightest touch onthe small tuning pin can alter the pitch.

Finally, we considered the inexpensive tuning ‘apps’ which can be downloaded tophones, i-pods and the like. These are no substitute for aural tuning, but can bebrilliant for quickly setting an unfamiliar temperament with reasonable accuracy.

Having sorted our Werckmeisters from our Valottis we thanked Roger for a veryuseful class and left with increased confidence to tackle early keyboard tuning.

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PIANOLAS DEMYSTIFIEDARTHUR JONES & DAVID WRAGG SPONSORED BY NWPPAREPORT BY MATTHEW GOUGH

If I were to mention equalisers, pneumatics,exhausters, valve chests and motor governorsyou may well be forgiven for thinking that Ihad taken up car maintenance but in fact theseare all parts of a Pianola. Apart from being avery good pub quiz question, this just goes toshow what a weird and wonderful collection ofparts go in to making up this amazing invention.

We were all intrigued to know more and we were not disappointed by this excellentclass. Arthur is the publicity Officer for The North West Player Piano Association (orNWPPA for short) and explained how notes are created from a simple pedalling actionand David Wragg, the Technical Advisor for theAssociation, was on hand to answer queries andgive practical demonstrations.

The class started with two superb free hand outs.A poster sized diagram of parts which will looksuper framed and up on my workshop wall, and auseful typed summary of pianola parts, instructionson action removal, suggestions on faults and a listof suppliers, restorers and contacts for materials.

The first successful pianolas were made in the early 1900’s and were 65 note ‘push-up’ piano players. These were set in front of the piano keyboard and had ‘fingers’ toplay the keys. Mechanisms were soon built into the pianos themselves and by 1910, 88note rolls were standard. You will know that the ‘roll’ is the perforated rolled up sheetthat is in effect the score. For a long time pianolas were the record players of their dayand were extremely popular. It was only when radio, electrical recording and vinyl camein that they went out of fashion.

There are two main types, those that are pedalled and the ‘reproducing’ pianos,that is those that have a motor and do not require pedalling. The main problem withmost of them nowadays is that because they were built of rubber and leather leaks arealmost inevitable.

Various parts were passed around the room to investigate and later we had to identifythem from memory to see what had sunk in! Included in these parts was a lethal lookingspring with sharp hooks on the end which is under tension and hidden away inside the

‘Equaliser’ casing. If you dismantle the casing without thinking, these things could easilygo right through your hands! A dangerous exercise then!

Opposite, Andrew Jamieson teaches Victoria Helliwell how to play PucketChris Jackson magics a piano into the bar

Craig Lowe and Neil Sale do combat in the F&N Pucket Tournament

June 2014 23

Through careful explanation and with the aid of super diagrams shown on theprojector, we were able to see the sequence of events, following the vacuum of air andhow this operates the various bellows and valves in order right up to the final playingof the key. After the coffee break we were then given a puzzle! Diagrams of each partof the process but all in the wrong order. Putting them back in the right order was achallenge, a bit like ‘spot the difference’ – which valve had moved where from the lastpicture! We got there in the end. In fact it was a great way to get us all to think aboutthe process and for the first time I really did get my head around how these things aremeant to work.

Arthur then went through the process for removing the ‘Stack’, that’s the gubbinsin front of the action. Careful labelling of the tubes and pipes being an absolutenecessity. If you are only tuning you should leave the stack in and we were given avaluable tip. Attach a piece of string to your papps wedge because if it is unattachedand falls into the darkest depths you are unlikely to be home before supper.

Next came some common faults and a few tips on how to deal with them alongwith a warning on health and safety. I have already mentioned the maiming equalisersprings but you should also be aware of lead dust, asbestos and mercury which is whyit is advised that you never suck on old tubing – heaven knows what might be lurkinginside. This coupled with possible electrocution did make me wonder whether I reallywanted to take the risk of taking one of these lethal machines apart at all with itsdeadly concoction of poisons and hazards but I suppose I’ll just have to be careful.

Finally, the room was filled with that comforting aroma of our old friend the hotglue pot, as David recovered a bellow or two for us with great aplomb, making it lookeasy until we have a go one day ourselves and need a dozen attempts no doubt!If the aim was to make us think that pianolas were not as difficult or as complicated aswe thought and that we might like to have a go at repairing or even restoring one, thenthe class succeeded. Many thanks to Arthur and David for the huge amount of timeand effort they must have taken into preparing this super class.

The North West Player Piano Association has a website at www.pianola.org.uk andyou can contact them by email on nwppa@hotmail.com You can receive technicalassistance, a journal published twice a year and access to a library of books,recordings, technical informational and access to social meetings, all for the singlesubscription of just £10.50 for 2014.

Very informative articles by Arthur Jones of the NWPPA were published in theFebruary 2012, August 2013 and October 2013 editions of PTA News. These areavailable to view in the Members section of the PTA

Website www.pianotuner.org.uk and would be a very useful resource for anybodythinking of carrying out work on a pianola.

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Renowned pianolist and classically trained musician Rex Lawson began hisconcert by introducing his roll-operated, foot-pumped piano-player, and explainingthat the pedal-operated pianola is often either dismissed out of hand as a mechanicalbox of tricks, or (particularly in mainland Europe) regarded as the poor relation of thefully-automated reproducing piano. Rex impressively set about disproving thesemisconceptions with a range of challenging pieces beginning with Dukas’ Sorcerer’sApprentice, an orchestral arrangement clearly well beyond the capabilities of a pianist.Unlike the unfortunate trainee wizard, Rex proved to be fully in command of hismagical machine, coaxing out of it the full range of dynamics as well as the significantchanges in tempo which are essential for such a piece to come out well. All this madefull use of the impressive and full-bodied Bechstein grand piano rebuilt by Phil Taylorand presented by Crown Pianos, giving authentic voice to the movements of thepianola’s mechanical fingers.

Rex then expanded on the history of perforated music and the player piano,illustrating this with a story of how Moritz Rosenthal is reputed to have heard his owndifficult Study in Thirds based on Chopin’s Minute Waltz being played on an earlypianola faster than is humanly possible. Rosenthal was duly impressed but also gavesuitable advice to the pianolist! Rex’s sensitive performance didn’t make the samemistake but introduced us to some delightful deviations from a piece which has beenthe subject of a bit too much radio repetition.

Most of the rolls played by Rex were standard 88-note rolls but his ca. 1910 88-note Aeolian pianola can also play the earlier 65-note roll format, and one suchexample was of Rachmaninov’s Op. 23 Preludes, a gentle contrast with the fireworksand musical gymnastics of the first two pieces. Rex explained that Rachmaninovhimself owned a pianola when he was in Russia but that, along with all his possessions,was destroyed in the revolution.

Rex then expanded on the musical aspects of the pianola, noting that there aresome things a conventional pianist can do better, and other things at which the pianolaexcels. Specifically, the rolls played by Rex (with one exception) were all metrically-cut transcriptions of a score rather than hand-played interpretations, requiring allexpression to be provided by the pianolist via the pedals (to change the dynamics fromvery soft to very loud – extremely loud in some cases!) and the tempo lever (to varythe phrasing and indeed insert pauses). Sustaining is also applied via a lever connectedmechanically to the piano’s pedal. The overall control is something like that which aconductor has over an orchestra. One of the first composers to exploit the uniquecapabilities of the pianola was Percy Grainger, as demonstrated via a roll ofShepherd’s Hey, turned by Grainger into an inhumanly difficult and very entertainingtorrent of notes. Rex is something of a raconteur as well as a musician and he told ofhow Grainger, while at the BBC in his own right as an internationally famouscomposer, heard that an accompanist for an imminent broadcast had become stuck in

PIANOLA CONCERTGIVEN BY REX LAWSONREPORT BY ARTHUR JONES

Opposite: Last Drop Village; Friday Night in the BarThe Fletcher & Newman Stall Attracts a Crowd at Coffee Break

June 2014 25

snow and the broadcast was in jeopardy. He volunteered tostep into the breach and the broadcast went ahead, but hiscondition for doing this was that he asked to remain uncredited.

Quite a lot of Rex’s repertoire involves Stravinsky whowas another composer of music specifically for the pianola,particularly for the Pleyel Company. Rex played Stravinsky’sMadrid, which is believed actually to have been inspired bythe Bay of Naples! Rex told us how Pleyel invested a greatdeal in pianolas and unusual pianos (including an enormousdouble player grand), as well as commissioning Stravinskyto make pianola arrangements of many of his pieces.

As an example, Rex played Kastchei's Dance from The Firebird, containing hugecascades of glissandos.

As the sole hand-played roll (i.e. a roll recorded from the keystrokes of an actualperformance), a Duke Ellington selection recorded by British-born jazz pianist MarianMcPartland gave a hint of the much lighter repertoire also associated with the pianola,and proved to be a bluesy, impressionistic take on various jazz piano favouritesincluding It Don’t Mean a Thing.

Rex’s skills as a raconteur were demonstrated again with a limerick about theJoyce Hatto scandal, then a longer poem about Rachmaninov’s reluctance to composein minor keys! He brought the recital to an informal close by inviting the audience togather around the pianola as he played Rachmaninov’s Tarantella.

Many thank indeed to Rex for a concert which will no doubt have been a revelationto those uninitiated in the mysteries of the pianola, and an eye-opener even to those ofus who have some familiarity with these instruments, with our own pedalling attemptssounding in comparison like the piano tinklings of an elderly aunt. Rex has shown usall how it’s done!

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PTA COUNCIL REPORTANNE BURTON

The meeting of the ExecutiveCouncil was held on 17th May at the LastDrop Village Hotel, Bolton.

Present were Brian Frost (President),Matthew Gough (Vice President),Andrew Jamieson (Treasurer), AnneBurton, Lewis Flisher, Michelle Ruddand Tania Staite.Brian warmly welcomed new CouncilMembers Andrew Giller, Michelle Ruddand Gary Whiteland.

The Treasurer and Secretary werereappointed and their remuneration wasagreed for the year ahead.Various delegated duties for differentCouncil Members were agreed andMichelle Rudd has volunteered to jointhe Convention Team.

One Associate application hasbeen received.Five Membership tests have beenconfirmed. The test sub-committee willmeet at the end of July and Mark Beglinwill receive training as a new examiner.

A first draft of the new website hasbeen produced and comments are ready tobe sent to the web designer.With the Code of Conduct approved at theAGM, the appointments to the conductpanel were made.

The Yamaha training day will be heldon 4th October in Reigate.

The next meeting is scheduled forSaturday 26th July at 12pm at RobertMorley & Co. Ltd., Lewisham.

ON THE ROAD TROUBLE-SHOOTINGRICK OHLENDORFREPORT BY ANDREW DAY

This was a great class. Rick Ohlendorf is a highly experienced and innovative thinkerwith 33 years of experience – and his handmade tool box is excellent!

The afternoon was a 'whistle-stop tour' of practical on the road repairs with veryuseful hints and tips. The subjects dealt with were so great that it's impossible to mentionthem all, but here's a selection: hammer problems and repair, removing the check toallow a grand key to be removed, key repairs, cord replacement, adjusting springs, pedalsand lyre repairs etc.. We also replaced an agraffe. (We had fun trying to break one first!)

Finally we practised the skill of tying / splicing a broken string, which is a veryuseful in case of emergency! See photograph above and those on page 6.

A very enjoyable class Rick.

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4th October 2014PTA/Yamaha and the Piano Workshop

At the Piano Workshop, Reigate.An opportunity to learn about the Yamaha Silent and Disklavier systems.

1st November 2014 Autumn Training Day and Dinner

The Stirling Highland Hotel, StirlingMore details soon.

15th March 2015PTA Training Day with Malcolm McKeandat the Guildhall School of Music and Drama

For enquiries, PTA goods, changes of address or contact details:Mrs Annette SummersPTA SecretaryPO Box 230HAILSHAMBN27 9EATel: 0845 602 8796Email: secretary@pianotuner.org.ukDEADLINE FOR ARTICLES: FRIDAY 18th JulyArticles, letters and photos to: ptanews@pianotuner.org.uk or to address on page 3.

PTA DIARY

The PTA is most grateful for all the help andsupport given at our Convention by:Barry Caradine Piano SpecialistCrown PianosFletcher and Newman LtdHellerBassKawai PianosNorth West Player Piano AssociationPrecision Piano ToolsRobert Morley & Co. LtdVale Pianos

Precision Engineer and Toolmaker,Gavin Hartley

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