[CAUT] It's sooo nasty humid!

[Chris Solliday]

Here in the good old four full season northeast we follow the CAUT
Guidelines and tune all our institutional pianos seasonally (4) at the
height of each season. That is a minimum, we then add event tunings whenever
they are necessary.  We install climate control systems in almost all
pianos. I say almost because when we find that no maintenance of the system
will be possible we just recommend more frequent service. Sometimes there is
actually a room that is fairly stable but rarely. We still have to float the
pitch in the summer months but try not to let it go above 444 Hz. The pianos
with systems that are maintained well do not drift as much as the ones
without systems and generally stay around 440-441. We do a little voicing
every time we tune. The concert pianos get more voicing, but never a big
deal (leveling strings, rendering, mating etc) on the same day as the
concert, just minor needling on concert days. We have evolved our pitch for
all concert pianos to 441 succumbing to the current trend. 

The Guidelines are invaluable as a resource for educating our overseers.
Budgets continue to grow as required when all parties understand what
"effective maintenance" really means. Studying the Guidelines and practicing
salient talking points, even scripting some of them, can make each of us a
better trusted advocate for the piano inventories in our care.

Chris Solliday 

 

From: caut-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:caut-bounces at ptg.org] On Behalf Of Kent
Swafford
Sent: Wednesday, August 11, 2010 9:45 PM
To: caut at ptg.org
Subject: Re: [CAUT] It's sooo nasty humid!

 

Here we have wide swings between humid and dry, but we have long periods of
relative stability at both extremes. The moderate weather last for days, the
extremes last for months. Tuning at the far ends of the climatic range is
the only option here. We minimize pitch changes by floating the pitch so
that it oscillates equally on either side of 440; well, OK, we may favor
sharp somewhat.

 

Kent

 

 

On Aug 11, 2010, at 8:36 PM, tannertuner wrote:






More temporary at some times of the year than others. When schools can only
afford to have pianos tuned once or twice a year, it makes NO sense to tune
them at the times of year when they are at the far opposing ends of the
climactic range. They're NEVER in tune then, because you're always doing
large pitch corrections, which by nature will render a piano back out of
tune in a few days.

Jeff

--- On Wed, 8/11/10, Shawn Hansen <kayceemusic at gmail.com> wrote:


From: Shawn Hansen <kayceemusic at gmail.com>
Subject: Re: [CAUT] It's sooo nasty humid!
To: caut at ptg.org
Date: Wednesday, August 11, 2010, 8:25 PM

Sometimes I just don't think it matters when you tune a piano.  If there
were special times to do it, then we would all be VERY busy for the 1 or 2
weeks it is just right to tune.  

Tuning is never a waste, but is always temporary.

 

Shawn

On Wed, Aug 11, 2010 at 6:50 PM, Kent Swafford <kswafford at gmail.com
<http://us.mc1806.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=kswafford@gmail.com> > wrote:

That may be true in some places, but it is absolutely not the case here.

 

Kent

 

 

On Aug 11, 2010, at 5:49 PM, tannertuner wrote:






It makes more sense to do all bulk university work in Fall and Spring. It
makes NO sense to do any bulk tuning in summer and winter, but especially
before semesters begin. Big waste of time and money.

Jeff Tanner

--- On Wed, 8/11/10, Jon Page <jonpage at comcast.net
<http://us.mc1806.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=jonpage@comcast.net> > wrote:

 

 

I try to voice and regulate in the 'off' seasons of Fall and Spring.
preferably Fall.

-- 


Regards,

Jon Page

 




-- 
Shawn Hansen RPT
certified piano technician
816.896.4047

 

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