Los Angeles Chapter
May Meeting:
Date: Mon., 5/19/2025
Time: 6:30 pm-Food
7:00 pm-Meeting
Location:
Faust Harrison Pianos
5539 Van Nuys Blvd.
Sherman Oaks 91401
Thank you, Bruce Stevens, RPT, for the excellent class on action improvement. For those who have never plumbed the depths of what makes an action play in a great way, Bruce opened us up toward understanding all that we need to consider to get the optimal result when we take on an action renovation job.
Thank you, also, to Franco Skilan, RPT, who continues to lead us through the renovation of the Steinway B. This month in two work sessions the chapter tackled pinblock fitting and installation.
In May we will be pleased to hear from Alan Eder, RPT, and Ed Whitting, RPT, assisted by Wesley Williams, RPT, in their new class, “Getting the Drop on High End Grand Regulation: Micro Adjustments that Yield Macro Results,” a preview performance to their presenting the class at this year's annual convention.
How can micro adjustments make macro differences in grand action regulation? See slides, videos and live demonstrations depicting optimized adjustments for a particular outcome. The regulation adjustments to be discussed are: Key Frame Bedding, Action Centers, Jack Adjustment, Repetition Lever Height, Hammer Height, Let-Off, Drop and Aftertouch Measurement, Hammer Catching, Repetition Spring Tension, Key Up-stop Rail, Damper lift with the key, and Damper Pedal Stop Adjustment. As a bonus, we will revisit action lubricants, polishes and their applications.
Alan is a life-long lover of music, a songwriter since the age of seven. After an amazing high school education at Verde Valley School in Sedona, Arizona, where he was introduced to musical instrument technology and African music, he went on to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree at UCLA, where he started out as a theory/composition major, and ended up in Ethnomusicology, with an emphasis in African music. He has been the full-time piano technician at CalArts for 37 years and has trained many fine piano technicians in that time, including the lead technicians at the Colburn School, UCLA and the chief Steinway Concert and Artist technician for Los Angeles (and several of their assistants).
Ed is a second-generation piano tuner/technician who graduated from Sims
School of Piano Technology. Corporately, worked for Yamaha International Corp.,
as a Piano Service Consultant, Assistant Technical Manager at Kawai America
Corp., National Director of Technical Services for Young Chang America.
Experience includes many years as an independent piano technician while
principle piano technician at the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Has acted as a
technical consultant for many piano manufacturers including Baldwin,
Bosendorfer, Fazioli, Samick, Schimmel, Kawai, Yamaha and Steinway (New York).
Further studies include time at the Schimmel, Bosendorfer, Fazioli and New York
Steinway Factories. He specializes in custom action performance/regulation,high
level service, custom voicing and tone regulation, custom piano restoration and
fair market evaluations.
The meeting will be held on Monday, May 19th, at 7 pm at Faust Harrison Pianos’ Sherman Oaks location, 5539 Van Nuys Boulevard, Sherman Oaks, CA, 91401. As always, there will be a bite of food with chapter members at 6:30. See you all there!