Hi Doug, my teacher Ken Serviss is an absolute expert on shaping and voicing etc. Once he gave me the advice never to do anything like this without approval or request. Be especially careful with voicing since that taste of tone is so individual to each and every one. He once tuned a piano that had thoroughly putrid tone, so hard his ears couldnīt handle it. He thought to himself that heīd do a little good and voice the wretched thing. Well he did. It sounded a lot better but the day after, the husband (that he never met) called him, and said he had totally destroyed the beautiful tone of the piano. Well, turned out he was very hard of hearing! Also be careful not to soften up the tone too much on these little spinets. They have a little and thin tone that canīt afford to be softened up much without making them sound very dull. Thereīs not a "great" chance that youīll get a thing like this to sing like a Steinway. Regards, Kristinn At 11:01 8.6.2000 +0100, you wrote: >Doug, >I learned a long time ago, through experience, that you never want to do >anything to a piano that does not have your customers approval first. You >went the extra mile but believe this or not I have clients who like the >tone you were hearing from that spinet. They would not like it if I were >to voice the piano to what I would consider a tolerable tone. Remember >that voicing is a very personal thing on a piano. What you and I will >like may not be what our client wants so we must first seek their opinon >about the tone of the piano. >--Marvin McDonald, Associate > >Doug Garman wrote: >>Yesterday, I tuned a 1958 blonde Kimball spinet. I had told the lady my >>tuning fee over the phone. When I arrived and found the piano to be a >>half step low I explained the need for a pitch raise and my fee for >>such. She called her husband and got approval to do the work. I'm not >>the fastest tuner in the world. After spending much more time than I >>usually need to I was exhausted but very pleased with the results >>(especially considering the piano I had to work with). At that point I >>would have written the invoice, collected my fee, and left. However, the >>tone was still that thin, shallow, metallic, pinging, tinging (my word) >>sound we're all familiar with in pianos of this sort. I decided to spend >>some time voicing. The lady had left the house for a while, so I did not >>"get her approval". After voicig the tone was much more tollerable >>though still far from ideal. When she got back I presented her with the >>bill which included an additional 0.4 hour of time for the voicing. I >>could tell she was concerned. I explained what that "voicing" was. She >>played the piano and liked it (I didn't), but later that evening her >>husband called complaining about the extra charge for something he did >>not understand or approve. I offered to refund the extra fee, telling >>him I'd rather he be happy. He said he'd "leave it up to his wife" and >>that she would call today. Was I a bad boy to charge her for doing a >>little voicing without getting her approval? I admit I was frustrated >>that I was not going to get paid for all the time I had already spent, >>but its not like I charged her for something I did not do. I think they >>got a bargin, though it is obvious they do not understand that. Doug >>Garman, AssociateGranbury, TX
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