Archive for the ‘Partners’ Category

Beverly Aiken, Central Coast Music Teachers Association, Piano Outlet of Nipomo, Ca. and Ric Overt

Sunday, October 16th, 2011

As many of you are already aware,  I manage a small store for the Piano Outlet of Oxnard, Ca.  www.thepianooutletco.com in Nipomo, Ca.  I have long been an advocate of music and piano teachers since I was with Baldwin Piano Mfg.  I believe that they are the key to the success of the piano/music business because the teachers are teaching people to play what we have to sell so, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to understand the correlations.

Ric Overton

Yesterday, the Central Coast Music Teachers Association held a conference in the store here in Nipomo and I was delighted to host them.  I sat while one of the leading technicians of our area gave an hour lecture on the history of the piano “A comparison of pianos through the ages”.  It was very intriguing.  Those of you who follow my blog on a regular basis know that I write a lot about the history of pianos and their origin.  It was a very captivating hour.  She brought out points that I had not thought of and refreshed my memory on other points that I had simply forgotten.

It was a pleasure to listen to a knowledgeable person bring such an enlighting path of our history.  It brings me to a new point that I will be discussing in some upcoming blogs and articles about our business.

This bring me to the point that I wanted to discuss today.  Max Morgan of www.MaxMorganDesign.com has been working with me for several years now helping to (in most cases) read my mind about the direction that I have been wanting to take the PianoSD website. Through a series of trial and error and much discussion (MUCH DISCUSSION) I have finally decided to launch a new website in the next few days www.ricoverton.com where I will be able to discuss business strategies as well as personal muse in two new blogs.

In the new site I will have the opportunity to challenge the current thought process of the piano industry and the current mood of the industry and keep it more personal than non-commital than I would attempt to do on PianoSD.  PianoSD is becoming a “go to” resource on everything piano related and RicOverton.com will be my personal opinions about business and then some personal things I would like to be able to discuss.

I look forward to the challenge of keeping up with three blogs as well as what I am

Piano Outlet, Nipomo, Ca

Piano Outlet, Nipomo, Ca

doing with the companies in the U.K. that I am currently writing for as well as the one I am developing for France and Austria.  Additionally, I write for two other companies as well as a couple of artists too.  So, I will be busy.

See you soon.

Ric Overton

for www.PianoSD.com via www.MaxMorganDesign.com

I posted three videos

Friday, June 24th, 2011

I posted three videos tonight that were really nice and thought I would share them with you.

The first one is about Estonia Pianos

watch?v=by62LOZh2B8

This is from Seth who has a cool video also his website is www.SethRye.com

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V91wxDTRmAM

And of course the famous Rosemary Bailey at www.RosemaryBaileyMusic.com

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DKKgHKfNnyY

Thanks for being patient with the website as we start the major MAJOR changes.

Ric Overton

http://PianoSD.com via http://MaxMorganDesign.com

Piano Teachers

Wednesday, June 1st, 2011

Of all of the things in the piano industry, I love piano teachers.  I know, I know, I love the manufacturers, piano builders, tuners, technicians, artists, etc.  but, teachers are the key to our industry.

Heres some facts.  Piano teachers generally speaking have the love and compassion needed to take kids into the next level.  They have to deal with young men and young women as they come into and out of the most important parts of thier lives on a much more personal basis than the average teacher.

As a child is going through the loss of a loved one, divorce of their parents, not to mention puberty and growing into young men and young women.  Then theres school, school functions girlfriends, boyfriends, best freinds, soccer, football, cheerleaders and such.  All the while they are doing their very best to work with the children through the situations.

Piano teachers are teaching our kids to play the piano but also are adding to thier imaginations.  Most people dont realize that learning to play a musical instrument helps kids increase their ability to learn.

I have had a lot of pleasure teaching adults.  Like teachers that teach kids I have listened to stories about everything from marriage problems to kid problems and financial problems and every possible topic in between and loved every minute of it.

Teaching adults to play has been very rewarding because they are learning to do something they have wanted to do all of their lives and never had a chance.  Take for example one student that I had who was in his early 70’s and had never played before.  When he played the first  bars of When the
Saints Go Marchin In, you would have thought he had just won a lottery.  Yet, he had it in him all along and simply needed an avenue and permission to get it out.

At the Piano Outlet in Nipomo, Ca.  I have begun classes that are for adults and another teacher is teaching the children.  If you are interested in joining one of our classes or are interested in learning on line, please contact me and I will get you into one of our classes.

Hope to see you soon.

Ric

posted by Ric Overton of www.PianoSD.com  via www.MaxMorganDesign.com

What’s the difference in pianos

Friday, May 20th, 2011

I am probably asked at least once during a sales presentation the difference in pianos and why one may be $2500.00 and the next piano of comparable size is $7500.00.

Pianos now come from at least three main areas of the globe.  #1 by far is the production that is going on in Asia.  Whether Japan, Korea, Indonesia, China or Vietnam (yes, Vietnam) the largest percentage of piano being produced now are from Asia.

Years ago when you spoke of an Asian piano it was with some disdain that you even mentioned it.  While some still don’t like it, the truth is that they are doing a really good job in building pianos.  For some time we have identified Asian pianos with a really bright, almost “tinty” sound.  Today we are seeing many pianos such as Pearl River’s Rittmueller, Perzina, Brodmann and others that are arriving from China in a near perfect tuning, good regulation and a European smooth sound.

It has been an incredible change in production that we have witnessed right before our eyes.  I for one am constantly amazed at the differnce in quality of the piano as well as the quality of sound that is being produced in Asia.

I will continue to discuss the various areas of the world that pianos are currently being produced in and the sound textures and differences that you can/should expect.

Eventually in the transition of PianoSD I will be discussing various pricing and with the help of some others I will start to hopefully explain piano name brands and give my opinions on what you can and should expect with each.

While pianos are my passion, I have a great love for piano teaching and a respect for the piano teachers and hope to promote thier craft.  I am certainly trying to bring music education to Nipomo, Ca.  where I presently manage The Piano Outlet.  You can find us at www.thepianooutletco.com .

I hope you enjoy this blog as much as I enjoy bringing it to you.

Ric

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Visit in Germany

Sunday, May 15th, 2011

Russell Kassman, a dear friend of R Kassman Pianos in Berkely, Ca. is in Germany and was nice enough to put in a post on the world famous www.PianoWorld.comabout his trip to Germany.  I was so jealous but, after reminding myself how beautiful Nipomo, Ca. is I decided to be satisfied with my present surroundings and live vicariously through his experiences in Germany.  I contacted him via www.Facebook.com, of course, and asked his permission to re post his report of his trip to the home of pianos.  Here it is-via R Kassman Pianos, Berkely, Ca www.RKassman.com

Repost from www.PianoWorld.com

AN EXPENSIVE DAY IN BAYREUTH!!!
w
I just left Bayreuth and the Steingraeber & Sohne factory and am on my way to the Black Forest to visit the Sauter piano company. I was honored to be the first person outside of factory workers to play/test the new Steingraeber 192. THIS is going to be a fantastic piano! I am posting a picture for you to have a look. It is remarkable, and has the same action as the Steingraeber 212 – very quick and decisive and an immense amount of power for the size… think Steingraeber 170 on Steroids. All of you going on the PW European tour might be able to try it as well (if you beg and plead with Udo smile)I also played (for several hours) three Steingraeber Concert Grands and selected one to replace the one we just sold to composer Gordon Getty. The new one I selected is a fabulous instrument with majestic power and a depth of tone like the Grand Canyon. I am really excited about this instrument, BUT I am doing cartwheels about another piano I bought! During my “testing time”, two factory workers rolled in a 232 (7’6″) that had just come from being used for a recording. I sat down to try it and COULD NOT pull myself away from that piano for nearly one hour. IT IS FABULOUS. After begging, pleading, and SEVERAL glasses of Schnapps, I got Udo Steingraeber to agree to sell it to me. Anyone who wants to hear one of the finest pianos I have EVER played in my many years should either go on the PW Tour and ask Udo to play Russell’s D-232 or you can beat a path to Berkeley when it arrives.

Now, on to the Black Forest area tomorrow morning for a visit to Sauter Pianos. Wow, what a great trip but my Mastercard is screaming!

and now if I wasnt jealous enough – Post from Sauter from www.PianoWorld.com

As if my visit to Bayreuth, and the Steingraeber factory weren’t enough to cause serious damage to my credit card, my visit to Ulrich Sauter, and the Sauter factory, resulted in me being waken in the middle of the night by my credit card shreaking in agony!First, you should know that the drive from Bayreuth to Tuttlingen is quite beautiful, and as you leave the city of Stuttgart and head into the Schwarz-Wald (black forest) the scenery becomes everything you imagined as a child reading Hansel and Grethel. The Sauter factory is located in Spaichingen, which is a small town in the larger series of “stadts” of Tuttlingen (best known for the worlds most advanced surgical devices – and coo-coo clocks) and Rotweil (as in the dogs, the Romans, and the oldest community in Europe). It is also the home of the Lake of Constance which has borders on France and Switzerland, and it is where the Danube River begins – so you get the influence of German baking, French sauces and Swiss presentation. My hotel was at the wood bridge over the mouth of the Danube (you should be jealous about now). I spent my first evening, after my drive, gorging on Venison in a lingonberry sauce served with Spaetzel (sort of noodles) and Spargel, which is white asparagus that is in season. Of course, we had to have something to wash all of that down, so Uli ordered a wonderful local white wine that went perfectly with our meal. Ah, life is good. Of course, dinner was followed by more schnapps.

The next morning, a lite mist was over the valley when Uli picked me up from the hotel and we headed to the factory a few minutes up the road. My goal was to just take pictures of two pianos I already have on order for customers so that I could show them the progress and to try to get out of town without tripling my debt. Yeah, right, sure.

While going from the office area to the main factory, there was a piano sitting in the factory concert area that stopped me dead in my tracks. True, it was the look of the piano that set my heart pacing, but when I sat down to it, I was left breathless by the depth and quality of sound. While I am lucky to represent many fine piano makers, and several are of comparable quality standard, I can’t think of any that equals Sauter in its ability to make uprights that equal the musicality of most grands. Add to that the stunning quality of the furniture and you have an unbeatable combination.

This piano is called a “PURE”, and it’s cabinet was designed by Peter Maly, the “guru” of contemporary furniture design. It has a polished ebony background and the keyframe/keybed/fallboard is in polished Zambrano. Now, I had never seen or heard of Zembrano before, but Uli indicated it is in the Rosewood family. But really, saying it is like Rosewood is like saying wine is like grape juice. I am posting pictures on our FACEBOOK PAGE : LINK HERE – Scroll down to the end of the FB post for the pics.

Well, I already have a great selection of Sauter uprights in my shop, with a few on order, so I began to plot what I could possibly do to get this one. I continued on my factory tour, taking pictures of my customer’s pianos, and plotting my next move on the Zambrano upright. Luckily, later that day, I was able to catch Uli in a well planned trap.

You see, over the years I have visited the area quite a bit. And Uli knows that I won’t leave Tuttlingen without a visit to this one farmer who makes a combination apple/pear schnapps that you can buy. Oh Wait, YOU can’t buy it but I did :P. So, after lunch that is exactly where we headed. To my surprise, the farmer now has a sort of tasting room, and has added several other versions of his ware, including an “herb schnapps” which has a sort of rosemary/thyme flavor, a sort of anise schnapps, and several others – whose names I can’t remember for reasons better left untold (aka too much tasting).

So, it was in this tasting room that I decided to make my move with Ulrich, and I convinced him to let me buy this piano now, with the agreement that if I haven’t sold it by NAMM, I will let him use it for the display in January. Heheh, I guess you could say yet another German piano maker has fallen into my schnapps trap.

Together with the pianos I bought at Steingraeber, we are going to have a fantastic collection going into summer and fall. But, all that tough negotiating (read schnapps drinking) made me feel I deserved a bit of a vacation, so I headed to Zurich (one hour from Tuttlingen) and got on a plane for Barcelona – and on the beach I sit, writing this and drinking – I’ll bet you’re thinking Schnapps – no way, Sangria!

Unfortunately, all of this ends on Monday when I have to fly back home to San Francisco to open the store on Tuesday, and rejoin Weight Watchers Tuesday night. I hope all the PW members going on the European factory tour have as much fun as I have had. And take it from me, if you fall in love with a piano on your journey and want to find a way to bring it home with you, grab the factory owner and a bottle of Schnapps and see where things go!

So naturally I was very jealous!!!! I asked him if I could relate his story and he happily agreed.  I hope you enjoyed his post as much as I did.

Updates

Thursday, January 27th, 2011

We have had tons of things going on in our world.

First, I am happy to report that we are finally working out a deal with an international piano manufacturer to handle all of their social media and electronic marketing for them. I am hoping to see that happen in the next few days.  I will keep you informed as that happens.

I opened a way to be a silent billboard for music and lessons and your favorite things about music.  If you go to www.pianosd.spreadshirt.com you will see the site where you can purchase a t-shirt or make one with your own design.  You can say anything you want, order it right there and it will be shipped directly to you or to a friend.  Stop by and check it out at the address above.

As we are building our social media for piano dealers, teachers, artists and others I hope to be able to bring you more things that will be fun and interesting.

Going into the next few weeks we are going to be discussing Social media and how it can change your life.  I noticed on the news tonight that Facebook and Twitter were the spark that started a rampage in Egypt.  With the power of that media I am hoping to send the word to as many people as I can get to read,  MUSIC IS FUN.

Trying to imagine our life without music is almost impossible.  I can’t imagine even one day of my life without music.  If you think about it neither can you.  On every hand and everywhere there is the sound of some type of music.  What a great world we live in.

I will be sending you more information about all of the above as soon as it all becomes available.

Ric Overton of www.PianoSD.com via www.MaxMorganDesign.com

Posting and Blogging

Wednesday, January 26th, 2011

In the next few weeks I am going to be discussing the difference between blogging and posting and how they affect you and your business.

Social Media by definition is nothing more than communicating with your friends, fans and potential customers via the internet. In times past we have used things like newsletters or direct mail or perhaps a tv, newspaper or radio ad to get the word out about a special event or promotion in the store. Now it means much more.

When you hear the term “Social Media” your mind conjures up all kinds of images. You have Facebook and some of you are thinking “if I hear Facebook one more time, I’m going to scream”, Twitter, MySpace, Linkedin, Street Mavens, Blogger, Word Press, You Tube, etc. But, social media is so much more than just that. Social Media is also part of email blasts and includes the use of pictures, videos and of course blogs and micro blogs as well.

Social media is all of these things but, it also serves a secondary purpose. The secondary purpose is ………wait for it………Google. You all know that Google is the dominant search engine used. Some analysts are saying that Google handles 67% of all searches done on the internet globally, every year. Yahoo, Googles closest competitor, gets only 16% of the searches. Bing, which has increased in recent months, is still sitting with all of Microsoft’s search engines at only 11% or so.

While posting to the social media platforms alone are not enough to get you a higher ranking in Google it does other things like provide you with links. I am not going into that subject right now but suffice it to say that it does play in together and all of these things hold hands and do communicate with each other in some way.

People automatically assume that this is difficult. While posting and blogging is not difficult, there are a combination of words that have to be properly placed together to make sense not only to the reader but, also to the all-important search engines. You must be using this phraseology correctly for the search engines that are constantly reading your posts and blogs to understand what you are doing and then in turn rank your website properly on the search.

Additionally, shortly I will also discuss pianos, organs and their origins.  I am hoping to continue to bring these programs together as I continue work with dealers, artists and manufacturers building their programs as well.

Thanks for reading.

Ric Overton of www.PianoSD.com via www.MaxMorganDesign.com

Piano moving is an art form

Friday, May 14th, 2010

We have talked about some basics in Piano regulation, Piano tuning and Piano voicing this week.  I wanted to talk about Piano Moving and tell you some things that you may or may not be aware of.

While PianoSD uses Paul McCloud at Accutone Piano Service, www.pianoservsd.com for our all of our piano techinician needs.  We use Precision Piano Moving at www.PrecisionPianoMoving.net for all of our moves and heres a few reasons why.

A few of the things that have to be seen and realized about moving pianos is that it is important to understand where the piano is now in relation to where it is going.  For example if it is coming out of a home that is in a humid area or dry area it has to be  taken into consideration.

Precision Piano Movers located in the PianoSD building in Mission Valley, San Diego, Ca moves a lot of pianos every week.  We see them coming from very dry areas moving to very humid areas and vice versa.  When a piano is leaving one climate for another, or from a room that is cool to a fully sunlit room the piano needs to go through an acclimation time of up to three months depending on the extremes in changes.  After the acclimation time the piano should be tuned and if needed a regulation, and voicing would be in order.

Upright pianos are generally the easiest to move.   If the piano is going upstairs Precision would simply bring the necessary tools and equipment to do this.  Of course, some “upright” pianos are 36″ tall while others may be up to 52″.  This is  important information for your movers to know BEFORE they arrive to move your piano.  If the legs are decorative, they are wrapped up and blankets are put around the piano for safe keeping and then the piano is placed on a four wheel dolly and taken to the truck for transportation to its destination.

Grand pianos can be a little more challenging.  Most of the time one leg is taken off and balanced on the lyre that has been very quilted for strength.  It is laid on its side and stood upright.  Then the other two legs and lyre come off .  It is blanketed and put on a skid board, transferred to a dolly and then put on the truck for transportation.  The important thing is how many steps is it going down (or up) and what kind of equipment should be used needs to be understood BEFORE the piano is moved.

Regardless of whether the customer is using Precision Piano Moving or some other company, it is important to note that you should NEVER trust someone who is not a professional piano mover to move your piano and MOST DEFINITELY do not move it alone.  To many injuries and to many accidents are caused every year by people who try to do this by themselves.

Drop by sometime we would love to meet you.

Ric Overton

Piano Regulation

Monday, May 10th, 2010

In yesterday’s blog I discussed piano tuning, today I thought I might touch on regulating a piano.

Generally speaking, regulation has little to do with the tone of the piano but, more to do with the way the piano feels while you are playing it.  Each part of the piano is made of wood and wool/felt with some metal parts.  On occasion the metal part needs small amounts of dry lubricant which can be applied by a technician only to help the parts move more freely.

At PianoSD.com we employ Accutone Piano Service, Paul McCloud who is a certified technician and can do this type of  procedure where he takes each of the 88 keys and weighs them to be sure the down weight (the amount of weight it takes to push the piano key) is correct.  He also measures the up weight (the velocity the key returns to its correct position) and makes adjustments where necessary. This can be a very tedious process because the piano technician has to insure that each piece of the piano is free to move.  Dry lubricant has to be applied at the right pivot points in order to obtain the maximum benefits for the piano.

As I said in my opening that regulation will not change the tone of the piano although it may appear to if you had a completely unregulated piano to start with and the technician brings it back to its proper regulation.  Paul McCloud of Accutone Piano Service here in Mission Valley at PianoSD.com will take each key individually and begin the process of being sure that each key not only weighs the right weight but, also the keys are free to move up and down and the hammers are free to move and play.

A proper regulation should take a couple of days 8-12 hours to complete if it is in really bad condition but after that the piano will most likely fell better than the day it was delivered to your home.  It will feel much more balanced and almost alive.  You can reach Paul McCloud of Accutone Piano Tuning at www.pianoservsd.com.

If you have questions regarding piano regulation I would be glad to help you.

Stop by sometime we would love to meet you

Ric Overton

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