self tuning piano????

[Wimblees@AOL.COM]

In the July Journal is a hillarious article about the self tuning piano. I know this story has been on the list before, but I just want to be sure all of you read it, just for the fun of it. It is absolutley unreal to think that someone could actually justify the invention of this "tool". What is even more discouraging is that someone from the piano industry actually paid this guy to develop and install the system in a real piano. 

Here are a couple of misnomers which lead this guy to think the systme works. He thinks one of the reasons strings go out of tune is because tuning pins slip. To solve this problem, he actually has developed a "string lock", to permantly clamp the strings in place, making tuning pins superflous. Tuning pins and strings do not move. (unles the pin block is bad). 

Another problem with the system is that the piano will be re-tuned repeatedly to a tuning set at the factory. This tuning will be done by a "Story & Clark Master Technician". Oh, I know the kind. The one in the booth at the end of the production line, competing with the noise of the stringing department. I am sure that will be a great tuning. For comparison, it took 4 CTE level tuner 5 hours to tune a piano at the convention. Do you think there might be a differnce between the two tunings? I wonder if the piano can be reprogrammed? Will Ed be able to do his thing on it?

Mr. Gilmore's experiment "have shown that varying the pitch of a string 50 cents requires, on the average, about one watt per string". Oh that's great. A pitch raise of 50 cents, with all the strings being tuned at the same time. I wonder what the effect on the soundboard will be? Do you think it will stay in tune?

Mr. Gilmore, if you're lurking, please just concentrate on your job as a engineer, and leave pianos to people who have expericen tuning and repairing them. I'm sorry you spent so much time and engergy, not to mention money, on a system that is a failure. You might be able to sell a few of these things to unsuspecting customers, but you have done the tuning industry, not to mention the whole piano industry, a great diservice inventing a usuless electronic device. You should be ashamed of yourself for even attempting to justify your invention. 

Wim Blees RPT
Tuscaloosa, AL