Hot and Heavy [ON Topic]

[Don]

Hi,

This is one area where simple temperature change can overwhelm the tuner. I
was working for the Big Valley Jamboree, a multiple day multiple group
country music festival. Generally I did about 9 tunings per day. There were
Yamaha cp-70's and an acoustic grand, and Fender Rhodes (and anything else
that was a keyboard and tuneable) The experience I remember the most was
working like a slave to get a cp-70 and fender rhodes both at A440. I
finished on time before the performance which had been up to that point a
cloudy warm humid day. Then the sun came out and in fifteen minutes the
pianos were miles apart. The Rhodes went flat 10 cents  the the CP70 went
sharp 10 cents. They complained and I said what you are seeing is the
result of a sudden temperature change, if you wish to stop the show I can
certain retune them both for you. They looked glum and declined.

I think that the dc rods with humidistat *and* a bottom cover on a grand
would be a much better solution than just lights and blankets. At night I
would definitely use  the blankets though.

Best of luck.

At 11:24 AM 08/20/2001 -0400, you wrote:
>    Cafe umbrellas worked  pretty well! Even so, the ambient temperature
>was always around 90F +. Then, of  course, the sun went down and the temp
>dropped a good fifteen degrees or so  before show time. I was constantly
>chasing the tuning. I tried Dampp-Chasers but  they didn't really help much
>with any wind blowing at all. Anyway it wasn't so  much a humidity problem
>(although it was quite humid - 80% +) as the temperature  change. Tuning
>the piano in the morning was really just an academic excersise!  Try to
>tune as close to the performance as possible.   I love to attend open air
>concerts in the summer  time but it's not really the proper environment for
>any musical instrument much  less a piano. I believe the artists understand
>this but try to convince the  promoters, stage managers, etc..   Phil
>Romano Myrtle Beach, SC    ----- Original Message -----    From:    Wilsons
>      To: pianotech@ptg.org    Sent: Monday, August 20, 2001 6:43    AM  
>Subject: Re: Hot and Heavy [ON    Topic]   
>     &     
>
>Wally Wilson, RPT
>
>At 08:31 PM 8/19/01 -0500,    you wrote: 
>   Hi      Z!,
>               But I may be      fooling myself on that one.
>Insulate and protect, in the best way      possible.
>Regards Roger.
>
>
>
>At 07:07 PM 8/19/01 -0400, you      wrote: 
>     Hi Everyone!
>
>  What are some of the problems people have observed after a        piano
>got hot?
>
>            (The stage managers have been told repeatedly not to leave the
>pianos out        in full sunlight for any length of time ....)
>
>   Meanwhile I came to yet another        concert rental recently which had
>numerous loose lead weights in the        damper system, and I'm wondering
>if that one also got a good "sunburn" at        some point over the summer.
>
>Thanks in advance --
>
>  RPT
>  MI
>diskladame@provide.net
>
>
>
>
>
>
> 

Regards,
Don Rose, B.Mus., A.M.U.S., A.MUS., R.M.T., R.P.T.

Tuner for the Saskatchewan Centre of the Arts

mailto:drose@dlcwest.com
http://donrose.xoasis.com/

3004 Grant Rd.
REGINA, SK
S4S 5G7
306-352-3620 or 1-888-29t-uner