How Soon to Tune?

[Brian Henselman]

I too prefer to recommend at least 2 weeks after delivery, but for a
different reason.  Scheduling.  I'm usually booked about 2 weeks in advance,
and rarely can come out with the before-mentioned 72 hours notice.  I
personally suggest a window of 2 to 4 weeks after delivery on new pianos.
In that most pianos drift flat very quickly (fresh strings), I don't want to
have to perform complimentary pitch raises every time I do a dealer's promo
tuning.  That's why I cap dealer tunings at 4 weeks max. after delivery.

BTW:  I always raise the pitch whenever necessary to achieve A-400 on new
pianos.  However, local dealerships want the HMO-type flat-fee approach when
billed.  Hence, I've had to "learn" how to integrate pitch raising into a
single tuning visit (and not get paid any extra for this skill by the
dealership).

The upside to pitch-raising is that it makes aural tuning a lot more
interesting.  It turns an ordinary aural tuning into a bit of an adventure.
Also, when I can charge for the pitch raise (ie a private tuning customer),
it sure makes tuning more profitable.

Now that I've mastered integrating pitch-raising into a single "aural"
tuning visit, I don't have the hassle of driving back a second time.  That
saves overall cost to the client, and they are usually thrilled to pay a
small pitch raising fee as part of a single visit, as apposed to paying for
double tuning sessions.

Just my 2 cents worth!


-----Original Message-----
From: A440A@AOL.COM <A440A@AOL.COM>
To: pianotech@ptg.org <pianotech@ptg.org>
Date: Monday, September 20, 1999 2:52 PM
Subject: Re: How Soon to Tune?


>
>>My own personal bias is that anything more than 72 hours would be
>>unnecessary. But I'm willing to learn.
>
>Greetings,
>   This will depend on the quality of the service.  I suggest two weeks.
>This allows the piano to cycle through the household's day/night changes,
and
>generally get acclimated to the relative level of humidity at that time.
>    A larger reason for the wait is that two weeks of play will call forth
>break-in problems like damper pedals losing regulation, "sticking keys",
>maybe a jack pad that didn't really have enough glue will have fallen off,
>and the damper wires that moved early in their settling will be rattling.
>    A couple of weeks delay in that first tuning/service can save extra
trips
>in the first two months or so.
>Regards,
>