This is a multi-part message in MIME format. ---------------------- multipart/alternative attachment Earlier this month I had almost the identical situation. I tuned a = piano for a church. I was referred to the church by one of the members. = She is the piano player. She initially asked me about the = dampp=3Dchaser system. I set up a meeting with the interested members = of the church and gave my lecture of the goods and bads of climate. I = thought I made had them convinced. I called back several weeks later = and the answer was no. Ok. Now the organ player needs her piano tuned. = Yes, she was one who attended the meeting. Now 2 years later I came to = tune her piano again. It was 40 cents low. Ok, she isn't home now...I = have to make a decision. I see an organ sitting next to the piano. I = know they are played together. Ok, pitch raise time. Fine. She plays = this thing to death. Hammer wear had taken its toll. Poor tone. She = must use the shift pedal too, because hammer alignment was off. Anyway, = I talk to her husband and explain to him about climate. By the way = humidity was at 24^%, which is pretty low for here. I mention the = climate control system, he's all for it. He bought the piano for her = and wants to keep it up. I made an appointment with him to come back = and reshape hammers and shim the action stop. Just as I am about to = leave the first tuning appointment she shows up. She wants no part of a = dampp-chaser. She has been told by someone (she wouldn't say who) that = these systems put too much water in the piano. And this person has been = in the "business for 40 years". I told her I didn't care about what she = had been told. The laws of physics are taking their toll on her piano, = and something needed to be done.=20 As I went home that day, I thought about the situation. Things like = that get to me. See, this calls my opinion into question. But, she = still had me come back the next week to file the hammers. =20 By the way, when I came back to shape hammers, the humidity had gone up = to 33% and the tuning was all over the place. I wasn't phased because I = deal with climate changes far worse at my University job. Mike Bratcher ----- Original Message -----=20 From: Dave Smith=20 To: Pianotech=20 Sent: Tuesday, March 09, 2004 7:28 PM Subject: Piano Humidity Control System bashing I've asked a couple of you privately for advice, but would like a = wider opinion from this list. =20 I left a DC brochure with a customer with a new Kawai Grand. I was = there for the first tuning in late Oct and their house was open, the = humidity was high, and the owner seemed very tuning-concious. I = explained the main effect would be tuning stability, but general piano = health would be better, with more stable humidity and lower humidity = also. (Homes here with AC on can still vary from 50-70% humidity, in my = experience, depending on outside temp and humidity, and AC system size = and type. Many cool days when people open their windows have humidity = of 80% and up to 100% sometimes. Technicians here normally install the = heater bars and humidistats, but no humidifiers.) When I followed up for DC install and /or 6 month tuning, he had = talked to their piano teacher, who has a studio in Cape Coral. Was told = that DC was a bad idea for a nice piano, and they "we are finding that = they do more harm than good." "Hot spots, etc, better to not use one = unless you have things sticking etc." This is a reputatable teacher who I believe is operating under either = old infomation, false information, or no information. Lots of techs, at = least in this neck of the woods used to install the heater bars without = humidistats, and maybe that is the source of his belief. =20 I told my customer that I believed his teacher was misinformed, and = that I would talk to him. Set up the tuning appt for the customer for = May.. He is honestly convinced that he might be risking his piano by = installing a system. =20 I feel badly for two reasons. First, my judgement is in doubt. = Second, the customer possibly believes that I am just trying to sell him = something to line my own pockets. I did tell him that I only make about = the cost of one tuning when I install the system. And that he would = likely need tuning less often with the system. So over a period of = time, I actually may lose income. I am a believer in the systems, as long as they are properly = installed with humidistats. Have one in my own Yamaha grand piano and it = has made an incredible difference in tuning stability. But I have also = found in the past that debating with someone who already has made up his = mind is neither fun nor fruitful. What do you think. What would you do?=20 Dave Smith=20 SW FL ---------------------- multipart/alternative attachment An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: https://www.moypiano.com/ptg/pianotech.php/attachments/c5/56/27/c7/attachment.htm ---------------------- multipart/alternative attachment--
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