53rd Piano Technicians Guild Conference and Technical Institute

Jean and I just returned from an 8 day trip to Las Vegas, to attend our annual PTG conference. Whew! What a trip! As a member of the 4 man PTG Institute Team, I arrived a couple of days early to help prepare, and stayed an extra day to help wrap things up.

This is a truly unique event. In addition to dedicated technicians from around the country, there were representatives from Japan, China, South Korea, Poland,Turkey, Netherlands, Germany, Spain, Finland, Canada, and probably other countries as well!

In preparation for the event, 90 pianos were moved into the hotel in a two day period. These are displayed in the exhibition hall, and used for classes and tuning exams. Almost every evening there was a concert or reception that required moving rather large grand pianos on and off a 2 foot stage.

One of my favorite places is the exhibition hall! There were a number of things that caught my eye this year. The biggest was the new Safety-Ease Lid Assist that makes raising and lowering a grand piano lid so easy a small child can do it safely and easily! Check this out. We are now authorized dealers!

Another exciting product is the "Grand Piano Muffler" by Steven James.

 He has been producing this for over 2 years now, improving it along the way. The latest incarnation significantly improves ease of installation. I plan on installing these on my Steinway "O" and on our new Palatino 5'9" grand pianos. Here is a demo. Although common on vertical pianos, this is the first successful design for a grand piano. The advantages: allows more opportunities to practice without disturbing others and saves wear on the hammers and the piano's tuning.