Precision Piano Services'
Founder - Franco Skilan RPT
Born in 1966, Franco "cut his teeth" so to speak, in the piano
business. Legend has it that as a baby, his pacifier was made of old Ivory
keytops! Needless to say, his interests in Piano Restoration started at
a VERY young age. His earliest memories of actually working on pianos
were as an 8 year old, cleaning and dusting out grand piano actions in
preparation for his father, Giovanni, to begin repairs. By the age of
12, Franco was already polishing keytops, leveling keysets and rebushing
keys. His course in life was established at this point. "I want
to be a Piano Technician!"
By the age of 16, Franco started taking
Piano Tuning lessons from the legendary, and one time Piano
Technicians Guild President, Don Morton. A year and a half
later, Franco was "tuning" and
pitch-raising all of Giovanni's rebuilt Steinway Pianos!
Not a bad place to hone skills as a Piano Tuner, without
actually going to people's homes
and charging them for average tuning jobs. All the while,
Franco was working on some of the best pianos ever produced,
and learning from a Master Technician with vast amounts
of knowledge.
Throughout the 1980's, Franco was
studying his craft, and sharpening his skills as a technician.
He established a relationship with Dennis Hagerty, owner
and founder of Keyboard Concepts in Van Nuys, CA, and
quickly had a plethora of new and used pianos on which
to tune, regulate, and voice to different customer's
specifications. This is where a lot of the mystery was
taken out of the piano maintenance field, and practical
and crucial knowledge of piano manufacturing was gleaned.
It is also where he learned to distinguish what a piano
should actually sound and play like. In order to restore a piano properly,
one should know what the ultimate goal of tone and touch
should be!
In 1989, Franco established Precision Piano Services, with
an emphasis on piano service, then eventually, piano restoration. A few
months after the opening, Lafayette Nunley retired from the Piano Refinishing
business, and Giovanni Skilan moved his equipment to Precision Piano Services.
A new union was formed!
In 2006, Franco was brought onto Renner USA's "Technician on Demand" service, where he is available for Piano Technicians throughout the country to contact him regarding technical questions on using Genuine German Renner piano parts in high-end piano restoration.
Go to rennerusa.com / Franco Skilan page
In 2008, Franco was honored to be part of the 2008 Piano Technicians Guild National Convention, where he was asked to display his completely restored to "as-new" condition, 1876 Steinway and Sons Style 3 Grand Piano. He was also asked to teach his class "Piano Restoration or Replacement" - Helping Your Clients Make a Wise and Educated Decision.
Read about the 2008 National Piano Technicians Guild Convention
Since 1989, Precision Piano Services has evolved into one of Los Angeles'
finest piano restoration facilities. Most of our clients are private
party individuals. We place our emphasis on servicing instruments for
pianists. We do NOT do the type of wholesale piano rebuilding that has
become so invasive in this industry today. The vast majority of our
business is from "word of mouth" referrals.
Read about Giovanni Skilan
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