I truly believe that the answer to the shortage of technicians is
DIY -- Do It Yourself.  By that I mean that if you own a mechanical
musical instrument, you need to learn to maintain and repair it to
the best of your ability.

Fortunately, I came into the hobby in the late 1970s and old pros
still abounded.  "Ted" Spangenberg, of Player Piano Headquarters in
Boonton, New Jersey, was a bit of a mentor to me.  At the time, the
only book was Larry Givens' "Rebuilding the Player Piano."  Today we
have Art Reblitz who is to this hobby what John Twist is to my other
hobby, the MG sports car.

The difference is that we in mechanical music don't seem to share as
much technical information online as our automotive counterparts.  Most
vintage car owners are amateur mechanics.  I'll bet even Jay Leno knows
his way around a ratchet wrench set.  Does it mean his fixes his own
cars?  Not anymore, but I'm pretty sure he did back in the day!

I think we need things like YouTube videos on how to rebuild a Duo-Art
expression box, for example, and perhaps a video on fixing a ciphering
note due to a leak in tracker bar tubing, or whatever.  The point is
if you're intending to stay in this hobby, you need to be more like a
classic car owner and be your own mechanic to some degree.  Fortunately
we have this forum where people can ask for advice.

When I retire, I hope to spend more time rebuilding and restoring
instruments.  When that happens, I'll post those YouTube videos unless
someone else beats me to it.

Ed Chaban

 [ MMD articles about Player Piano Headquarters are indexed at
 [ http://www.mmdigest.com/Archives/KWIC/B/boonton.html  -- Robbie