Terry, all I can say is, been there, after all these years, although my speed may be a little quicker, still doing it the same way you do. It's the only way to take it home and keep it there. Hope I meet you some day. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Farrell" <mfarrel2@tampabay.rr.com> To: <pianotech@ptg.org> Sent: Friday, August 31, 2001 5:53 AM Subject: Re: stability of pitch raises > I have your answer - from my perspective. Keep in mind that I am not able to > do these 6 minute pitch raises and 20 minute tunings - yet. > > If my first pass starts with the pitch within a couple cents, any pitch > correction will be minor and I can just whip though the pass (whip - > relatively speaking). If my first pass is a significant pitch correction it > will take a bit longer because I will be adjusting my SAT every octave or > so - more frequently if the flat pitch varies greatly from note to note. It > will also slow me up a bit more because the piano likely has not been tuned > for many years and I will want to drop the pitch a tad with my first motion > in case there is any corrosion between the string and top bearing point. I > will also make my tension increase slower, the more corrosion is apparent > and the older the piano is. So, there are a couple factors that make the > first pass take longer as the pitch is farther off to start with - a good > ten minute difference for me often. > > Beyond that, the tuning itself will take more time. If that first pass > started out within 2 cents, it may have been a 20 to 25 minute pass. The > tuning pass will be so close that it (even for me) will go lightning fast > (again, relatively speaking). On a decent piano, my tuning pass in this > situation will sometimes be as fast as 40 minutes. If the first pass had > raised the pitch 50 cents or whatever, the tuning pass will start out close, > but many notes will be a couple/few cents off. Maybe you will have that one > octave in the tenor or treble that did not cooperate and you need to make > one quick separate pass over it to straighten out the pitch raise. When > doing the tuning pass after the significant pitch correction, I will spend > significantly more time on each string - a tad more to get it where I want > (just because it was further off to start with) - but probably more > significantly because I will work the string a bit to be sure that I get the > tension in all the string segments evened out. Especially in the treble > sections. You can just sit there and repeatedly & rapidly & firmly & with a > controlled appropriate amount of authority, depress the key (note, I never > whack the key) and watch the pitch go down. I try to make all these notes as > stable as I reasonably can (I also do some extra whacking - oops, did I say > that! - during the pitch raise). So the tuning pass also takes more time to > do after the larger pitch raise. My tuning pass time after a 50 cent or more > pitch raise will usually be in the 60 to 75 minutes range. > > So therefore, the 50 cent pitch raise took me about 40 more minutes to > complete the two passes than the two quick passes for the up-to-pitch piano. > I charge $40 for one pitch raise pass. That is also why I pro-rate the small > pitch raise in the 5 to 20 cent range ($2 per cent in that range) > > That's where I am at. I trust that answers your question. Feel less bothered > now? (he said in a non-sarcastic way) :-) > > I look at where I am at, and I know anyone can say that "gee whiz, Jim > Coleman or Randy Potter (or about a billion other tuners) is a better piano > tuner than you - they are faster also". And they would be right. I know > that. We all gotta start somewhere. I do try very hard to progress and do > the best job I can. That is likely why perhaps I usually am doing two pass > tunings - sometimes perhaps in situations that do not warrant it - to > compensate for some of my shortcomings. I don't think I charge more than > anyone else. And considering my typical clientele (nobody even has a clue > whether the piano is in tune or not - I know that), I am quite sure I am > making them happy. I had a new client call for an appt. yesterday. I gave > him the standard thing about it might need a pitch raise. He came right back > with "Oh, I know it will need a pitch raise. It was last tuned at 435, and I > want it up to 440". Totally blew me out of my chair. I had never had anyone > even know what those numbers might mean. I'll be watching real close how he > likes the tuning I put on his piano (newer Yamaha Disklavier). It is > entirely possible that I might even do the pitch raise, and then do a two > pass tuning - again, just to compensate for whatever shortcomings I may have > and just because I am not so self-confident at this early stage of my tuning > career. I realize that after tuning 50,000 pianos one can develop an acute > sense of what and how much is appropriate for each situation. I'm not there > yet. > > But, I am getting there. Ssssslllllloooooowwwwwwllllllllyyyyyyyy! Take care > Ron. > > Terry Farrell > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Ron Nossaman" <RNossaman@KSCABLE.com> > To: <pianotech@ptg.org> > Sent: Friday, August 31, 2001 12:48 AM > Subject: Re: stability of pitch raises > > > > In all recorded history (so far) no one has asked the glaringly obvious > > question. I can't imagine why not, so I had just as well do it and get it > > over with. > > > > If folks are habitually doing two pass tunings anyway, and since they're > > probably using an ETD that does pitch raises within a couple of cents of > > dead on in one pass (as we read repeatedly), why would they find it > > necessary to charge anything above the cost of a tuning for a pitch > > adjustment? This one has bothered me for some time now. > > > > Ron N
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