SPINET OUT OF CONTROL

[arnold1@mindspring.com]

I agree with the majority of your philosophy, but I would like to point out
the differences between what you and I do, and why.

On 1997-03-23pianotech said to arnold1@mindspring.com
   >I charge the same initial amount for a pitch raise as a regular
   >tuning B U T the customer will follow these guidelines or I do not
   >raise the pitch. If the piano is over 25% low I make the
   >appointment for the second tuning in 2 weeks. I spend the normal
   >time (1 hour) explaining that the piano will be moving around in
   >this 2 weeks and for them not to be alarmed as they hear it go out
   >of tune.
I am one of those who feels that we should, within reason, make a person's
piano sound as good as it can for as long as it will. There are many
environmental factors that will cause a piano to go out of tune, plus there
are all the "structural concerns" that might contribute, but, in my opinion,
if one does a pitch raise of any signifigant amount, they should tune the
piano at least twice, once quickly "to get it close", then a regular tuning.
 For, in that two weeks, there is the possibility that it will go
signifigantly out of tune, depending on how flat it was to begin with.  If I
tune it twice, sometimes three times, and charge usually up to 50 per cent
more, depending on how flat it is, I will have more confidence that it will
sound better longer.  And from a selfish point-of-view, the better it still
sounds when I do return, the more quickly I will be able to do a better job,
being that the nearer it is in tune when I start, the better job I will
end up with, and the more quickly I will end up with it.  After I have
finished my two or three tunings in the first trip, I usually suggest that
they let me return in about three months.  I still remember that Wurlitzer
spinet that I tuned a couple years ago that was almost a whole step flat.  I
tuned it three times, and when I returned in about eight months, not only
was it still up to pitch, but I finished it in about 75 minutes.  I just
tuned that piano again a couple weeks ago, after having gone about 18 months
this time, and it was again a 75-minute tuning.  There is absolutely no way
this piano would have held up this well without tuning it those three times
the first trip.  Other than these points, our philosophies are very similar.

 James
   >Grebe from St. Louis pianoman@inlink.com


Arnold Schmidt, Raleigh, NC, arnold1@mindspring.com