Why I'm the tuner and they aren't...

David Ilvedson ilvey@sbcglobal.net
Fri, 4 Feb 2005 07:59:27 -0800


OK,  I got an emergency service call at Stanford's Memorial Church.   I came at 4 pm and found of the organist practicing for his performance.   Sorry, he could not stop.
Yikes!   You have no idea what that was like.  I had to tune it somehow...SAT III.   I didn't have my magnetic mic!   Darn!   I basically tuned in between organ tones.   Imagine the reverberation of a big church....yeah, it was real fun.   Amazingly, Paul Kummer, the regular Stanford technician, commented on how well tuned the piano was when he came back a few weeks later.   

David I.



----- Original message ----------------------------------------
From: Conrad Hoffsommer <hoffsoco@luther.edu>
To: <pianotech@ptg.org>
Received: Fri, 04 Feb 2005 08:21:01 -0600
Subject: Why I'm the tuner and they aren't...



>Favorite things come in threes, right?

>1. This morning, I tuned my favorite PSO on campus. 42" console which could 
>be the poster child for flagpoling tuning pins. (Some bass pins are showing 
>¼" of thread above the plate) Driving pins not advised because then all the 
>strings would walk up over the coils. Located in a basement coffee shop 
>w/entertainment area (stage/dance floor). Humidity control non-existant and 
>pitch regularly varies between 435/444... today it was 433.1 Hz.

>2. Cleaning person was vacuuming when I got there. No big deal with laptop 
>based RCT and microphone dropped down into case.  When the vacuuming was 
>finished, I was asked if I wanted all the light turned off.  Hmmm, let me 
>see... 6AM/interior basement room... "Nah, leave them on, it's a little 
>easier to see what I'm doing. Thanks"

>3.  As I'm in the top octave of the fine tuning, the grill person comes in 
>to get the place ready to open.  On comes the MUZAK, right above my head(of 
>course).


>Had to vent. Now, everybody back away from the water cooler, nice and slow...

>Conrad

>_______________________________________________
>pianotech list info: https://www.moypiano.com/resources/#archives


This PTG archive page provided courtesy of Moy Piano Service, LLC