Piano Technicians Guild
WESTPAC - Western and Pacific Regional Conference
March 3-6, 2011
San Francisco, CA
Voicing Classes
NOTE: Click on an instructor's name to see a bio.
Express Regulation and Voicing (Part 2 of 2 parts)
Paul Rea
Paul
says that with 35 plus years in the music industry “There is nothing I can’t
do to a piano, and if there is… I know someone who can.” He also traveled the
country servicing player pianos and standard pianos. Paul is a certified Piano
Disc and QRS player system installer/technician, and quite proficient at touch
up and repair of polyester and conventional finishes. Paul has “sat in every
seat in the house” from bookkeeping, salesman, store manager, technician, factory,
as well as owning a retail store with his parents. Paul also owned a successful
tuning, rebuilding, refinishing and piano moving company for many years. The
past few years Paul has been with a major Southern California piano dealership
as a service manager and technician before accepting the National Technical
Service Managers position at the Pearl River Piano Group. In 2007 Paul accepted
the position at Petrof USA bringing his technical knowledge and experience
to Petrof USA as their National Service Manager. www.petrofpianosusa.com
How to express regulate and voice in a manner that is quick, easy, and less expensive using tools you have seen & some you have not. Where to get them … and it’s not at a piano supply house. A CD will be given out with the regulating specifications, express prep & voicing presentation, and the factory tour. (See Regulation section for Part 1.)
Voicing Without Needles
Zhi Wei Huang, RPT
Zhi Wei (pronounced "Zeeway") Huang was
born in China in 1954. Both his parents were engineers, and he and his
brothers grew up actually living in the factory where his parents were employed.
From a very young age he learned how to finely craft things of metal and
wood with machinery and hand tools. He is an accomplished violinist,
but conceived a passion to be a piano tuner. He emigrated to
the United States in 1981 and started learning piano tuning and repair
in 1984 in San Francisco. He's been a PTG San Francisco
chapter member since 1992. Mr. Huang has taken advanced technical
training at the Steinway factory
in New York, at Yamaha's Little Red Schoolhouse and at the Baldwin factory
in Trumann, AR. For some years he served as a consultant for Baldwin
Piano Company in China and would travel several times a year to their
Dongbei and Zhongshan factories to advise on quality control and
train factory workers. He is currently the chief technician for
the San Francisco Unified School District, where he has the responsibility
for maintaining and rebuilding 550 pianos. He does high level concert
tuning & technical work and has served as technician for touring concert
pianist Vladimir Viardo. Zhiwei is a creative thinker and has devised methods
of tuning and voicing that don't always follow accepted norms, but achieve remarkable
results. He has taught these in classes for PTG chapters in San Francisco,
Sacramento and Santa Clara, as well as many groups of piano technicians in China.
He is generous with his time and knowledge, and is always eager to share with
and learn from other technicians.
To most piano owners and technicians, the first things that come to mind with the mention of "voicing" are needles and lacquer, but these should really be the "weapons of last resort." This class demonstrates many other voicing techniques that get quick and dramatic results, and often eliminate the need for jabbing or juicing.
Can I Level With You?
Richard Davenport, RPT
Richard Davenport, RPT, is a concert technician, formerly
a Technical Service Consultant for 24 years with Yamaha. He received advanced
training at Yamaha's concert grand factory in Japan and, more recently, at
the Fazioli factory in Italy. Since 1980, he has serviced pianos for 20th Century
Fox Studios as well as installing a new soundboard, action and pinblock in
their 1928 Steinway D. He regularly teaches PTG chapter seminars, regional
and national convention classes. Richard is a recipient of the PTG 2008 Hall
of Fame Award.
This is a brand new class featuring tools, techniques, and ideas to improve grand piano tone without using a traditional three-needle voicing tool. Learn where to spend your time when there isn’t enough. Demonstrations will include use of a newly-invented magnetic bubble level to fit hammers to strings. Many useful techniques will be presented, and tonal changes evaluated. Every technician should come away with new and practical information.
Voicing the Renner Blue Point Hammer
Rick Baldassin, RPT and Michael Spreeman, RPT
Rick Baldassin, RPT - Renner USA
Rick received his education and piano technology training from Brigham Young University. He is the author of the book On
Pitch, which was recently re-published. Rick served as the Tuning Editor for the Journal from 1987 to 1991. His teaching has taken him to piano factories and conventions throughout the United States, Canada, Europe, Russia, Korea and Australia. Rick has served as the Concert Technician for the Utah Symphony for over 20 years, and has been the Teaching and Technical Consultant for Renner since 1989. He has been trained in the concert and artist programs of Fazioli, Steinway and Yamaha, and has been a consultant to the Falcone, Mason & Hamlin, and Pramberger Piano Companies. Rick also serves as the Technical Support Director for Fazioli in North America. He is a Member of Note, Jim Burton, and Hall of Fame award winner. Rick and his wife Cindy currently operate Baldassin Pianos, a full-line rebuilding and retail showroom located in Salt Lake City.
In this class, a full set of newly installed Renner Blue Point hammers will be voiced on a Schimmel piano. Rick and Michael will present an effective, easy to assimilate, step-by-step voicing procedure that is the culmination of nearly 70 years of combined education and experience in symphony and university concert work, piano restoration, consulting to manufacturers, and production. This new hammer allows the voicing to be achieved predictably in a very short amount of time. The class will conclude with a short performance on the Schimmel, allowing the class an opportunity to hear and evaluate the voicing. The Renner Blue Point hammer is a new product featuring the Weickert Special felt.