A Reason To Document

[Farrell]

One thing to add on my end. I am very lucky to live in an environment (mid-Florida) with commonly a relatively small range in indoor relative humidity levels. I have never noticed any significant consistent summer/winter pitch swing on pianos.

Terry Farrell
  
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Ron Nossaman" <RNossaman@cox.net>
To: "Pianotech" <pianotech@ptg.org>
Sent: Sunday, April 20, 2003 9:28 AM
Subject: Re: A Reason To Document


> 
> > > Now, what I'd like to know is how many tuners manage to get paid for
> > > those 2 beat pitch raises!
> 
> That wouldn't fly here.
> 
> 
> >Two bpm = 8 cents @ A440 - right?
> 
> Nope, it's 0.134 cents. Two bps @ A440 = 8 cents. Don't you hate it when 
> that happens?
> 
> Like Terry, what I do is very situation specific. In a no win situation, I 
> take the minimum damage approach. One of the colleges I tune had a change 
> in administration a few years back, as seems to happen at about four year 
> intervals. As I was finishing up a round of fall tunings, the new music 
> head caught up with me with a list of action refinements, noise complaints, 
> and voicing requests for the practice room pianos - old Gulbransens, 
> primarily. So we picked a piano and went to it. I showed her the tuning 
> record on my business card I leave under the lid, and explained that I make 
> at least 20 cent pitch changes on all of these pianos twice a year. One up, 
> one down. They can't afford climate control, and won't pay for gross pitch 
> adjustments (but they want them on pitch), much less regulation refinements 
> and voicing, so each piano gets just one tuning pass and an after-check for 
> disaster control. Anything else is negotiated per item. She was a new 
> doctorate, and had come from an institution with real money, real pianos, 
> and a real maintenance plan, so this news was a little hard on her. To her 
> credit and my surprise and delight, she understood. All my schools, 
> colleges or public, are approached the same for the same reasons.
> 
> Home tunings of regular clients with similar climate control and budgets 
> get the same thing. First time customers get the pitch raise charge. I try 
> to do it as right as the situation allows, and always discuss it with the 
> customer so we each know what is both expected, and provided. It doesn't 
> keep the pianos in optimal tune, but it helps keep the politics in check.
> 
> Ron N
> 
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