Piano Technicians
Jeff Chafin worked side by side with his father, the founder of Chafin Musiccenter for many years. Jeff learned many key elements to the business that has served him well since taking over the company. Among the lessons he learned, nothing is more important than service! And service seems to be...
Guy Ward was the president of the Ward Piano Company, located in Canton, North Carolina, from the 1940s until his retirement. After his daughter and son took over the company, he continued to go into the shop every day even at the time of his 2013 NAMM Oral History interview when he was 89! As...
Bill Brandom enjoyed playing piano as a kid and was even voted “most musical” in high school. He later was given a book on piano tuning, which changed his life because he realized it would be his passion. He attended a piano tuning school and opened his own shop in Kansas City before being asked...
DW Caffey was very young when he found himself enamored with the piano. In 1940, when he was just fifteen years old, DW taught himself how to tune pianos. He read a book and asked an old time tuner a few questions and was soon hired by a music store. He worked for several piano stores in...
Robert Walker worked for the retail stores of the Baldwin Piano Company. He was located in the San Francisco store but later traveled the western states repairing and adjusting organs as they arrived in the stores. While the retail arm of Baldwin did not last, the ideas created in the stores were...
Lucien Hut dedicated his entire career to teaching, selling, restoring and designing the piano! As a retailer he established Pianos International in Colorado. He later moved to Montana where he taught at the university for several years. His interest and involvement in music began when he...
James Reeder is the piano technician who formed James Reeder Piano in Lansing, Michigan, as both a repair and retail business. With a strong background in the restoration of pianos, Jim sought to hire top craftsmen to create the best service possible. Among those he hired was his father, who had...
Elmer Reeder and his brother purchased a sawmill outside of Lansing, Michigan, right after World War II. It was during that time that Elmer became an expert in wood, an important part of his career years later. When his son, Jim, opened a piano shop and retail store called James Reeder Piano,...
David Horine opened a small piano store in Bloomington, Illinois in the 1980s. David became a piano technician and gathered a nice reputation for tuning and repairs before he decided to open his own retail store. He found in short order that his customers were eager to try new models of the...
Ted Sambell was born in London, England and made his living as a piano technician in London, and Ontario, Canada. With poor eyesight Ted was often told he was limited in his career choices, but has said many times that being a piano technician was the ideal job for him and one he has enjoyed for...