A-442 (was Re: Fork or Float)

[Ron Nossaman]

At 07:55 AM 9/6/96 -0400, you wrote:
>Hi, Avery,
>	I get asked to tune to 442 five to seven times a year.  I charge an
>extra $100 for doing so.  I keep my prive concert hall piano at 440 all the
>time, summer and winter.  To raise it to 442 I have to tune it twice for 442
>and twice for 440 and since it is a special request the requester must pay.
>	I have found that if they have to pay extra for it they will often back
>off and accept 440.
>		Newton
>		nhunt@rci.rutgers.edu
>
>

Jees Newton,

I haven't been called to tune anything less than three beats off of 440 for
at least the last two hundred pianos! Maybe it just seems that way. <G>
Seriously though, two cps is theoretically traumatic to tuning stability but
I have had to change pitch on pianos over 15 cents on second tunings just
before the performance (35-40 minutes) when, three hours ago and before the
lights had been on, I had it dead-on and pretty. This is an odds-on sample
of daily life in my world. It's tough to split hairs past what each
individual defines for themselves as a practical limit. By all means, nail
it to the fork when the situation allows it, but if the circumstances are
somewhat less than optimal (What! Never!), survive. BTW, this isn't a
personal attack. Yours was just the first one I jumped on.


Barb said,
>Is it really necessary to do 2 pitch lowerings/raisings and 2 tunings to
>adjust for 2 cycles a second difference??  Since I have done pitch raises of
>almost a half step (Ab to A) and had the A come out almost dead on 440
>(without a SAT --- but don't start on that again -- I'm convinced!! I'll get
>one when I can afford it!), I find this hard to believe.  I understand the
>stability issue but still ...
>
>I can see using this "persuasive" method just to get the customer to agree
>to stop messing with the piano and saving wear and tear on the pinblock, but
>what I'm asking is, are these charges really for what you would have to do?
>
>Barb Barasa
>Ashland, OR

RIGHT! Especially when you're tuning five, or six, or seven a day. You get
pretty good at hitting pitch from ANYWHERE in one pass if you have to do it
every day. Yes, that's without a SAT. And yes, my hands are starting to
really hurt! Hmmm, maybe Newton's right.

 Ron Nossaman