Low Humidity Best

[Susan Kline]

Michael --

I agree that pianos do best if they can be kept dry in all seasons. Better
stable than cycling; if stable, better dry than wet. I've seen old uprights
newly arrived in California from Montana, which were 1/4 tone sharp 25 years
after they were last tuned. Under a fine patina of dust they looked so fresh
they reminded me of pianos newly arrived from the factory. 

In Denver, my mother's 7 foot Baldwin and our old 1941 spinet are still in
excellent condition, even though the spinet is placed directly in front of
a baseboard radiator and the grand gets heat from large western windows 
every afternoon. They've been in these same positions since 1962.

Moisture is the killer, not dryness. 

One opinion, anyway.

Susan

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At 09:23 AM 1/8/98 +0000, Michael Jorgensen wrote:
>Hello List,
>     I am interested in your opinions concerning humidity.  In Michigan,
>most homes simply can't handle 40 percent as windows drip and rot in
>winter.  My father, Owen Jorgensen, keeps his Steinways at a constant 25
>percent, using only a dehumidifier in the summer.  Every few weeks he
>"fine tunes" his dehumidifier by listening to whether the lowest tenor
>strings are going flat or sharp with respect to the rest of the piano.
>(sharp notes mean dehumidifier must run more).  His 21 year old B has no
>cracks or compression ridges, is all teflon which never makes noise and
>never needs work, and he hasn't tuned the pianos in years, only touching
>up once in a while, yet they're in perfect tune all the time.  Both are
>played alot, the pitch stays right up, the strings are not rusty, and
>action parts work beautifully.  The A is all original except
>hammers/shanks and has many cracks but is 94 years old and likely had
>them before any of us were born. I see an awfully lot of "humidity
>controlled" pianos kept around 40-50 percent that seem to be falling
>apart and rusting away.  Comments?
>Mike Jorgensen RPT
>
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Susan Kline
P.O. Box 1651
Philomath, OR 97370
skline@proaxis.com

"Why does it always get later, and never, even once, get earlier?"
			-- Ashleigh Brilliant