SHARP pianos

[John Ross]

Hi Clyde,
I make a point of writing the temperature and humidity on the bill, when I
tune a piano.
That way I know why the pitch is where it is the next time I tune. I also
indicate to the customer that the pitch will change with humidity, so they
expect to see a change if the humidity has changed.
The smaller ones have shown a more drastic change, in pitch.
I use the electronic unit put out by Dampp-Chaser, although Radio Shack
carries a similar unit.
Regards,
John M. Ross
Windsor, Nova Scotia, Canada

Clyde Hollinger wrote:

> Friends,
>
> In general I've not been in favor of "floating the pitch" for pianos,
> but a recent event has helped me see the light.  During the last week
> I've been finding that a number of the pianos I tuned a year ago are
> considerably flat.  My records indicate that a year ago I arrived to
> find the same pianos very sharp.  Here's a worst case type of scenario
> -- 12/17/97, first call, tune to A440; 6/26/98, piano was 37c sharp;
> 6/3/99, piano was 14c flat.  And these are at times when the humidity is
> generally pretty moderate here in PA.
>
> Now I'm not good at remembering weather patterns, but one of my clients
> helped me when I suggested maybe we had a long rainy spell about this
> time last year.  "Oh, yes," she responded, "I keep a garden book, and
> last year this time we had a week of rainy weather."
>
> So now I am inclined, if I find a piano that has been regularly serviced
> wildly off pitch (assuming good structural integrity), not to take pains
> to do the pitch corrections, up then down, back and forth, etc.
> Obviously, tuning for a concert is a different story.
>
> By the way, am I correct that in general smaller pianos will change more
> drastically with humidity fluctuations than larger ones?
>
> Regards,
> Clyde Hollinger