Tuning stability and efficiency

[Tom Servinsky]

IMHO, create more time for your appointments and charge accordingly.  
Tom Servinsky
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Ben Gac 
  To: Pianotech Mailing List 
  Sent: Tuesday, August 19, 2008 11:12 PM
  Subject: Re: Re:Tuning stability and efficiency


  Thanks for your input!  I wasn't intentionally trying to use the exact amount of 10-15 cents to make my point (as an aural tuner, I guess I should have specified a beat rate, but you get the picture).  So it seems to me--unless the piano is AT PITCH, if one really would like to do a stable tuning, he/she should always make two passes?  That would add about a half hour to a normal tuning time, wouldn't it?  Do you "two-passers" fit that into your normal tuning fee?  

  I'd like to think that I have a pretty good set of ears on me, and while it's quite simple to only listen to one string at a time I certainly can fully appreciate the sound of a tuned unison used as a test note.  

  What advice do you have for someone who has a slew of clients with pianos that aren't quite "pitch raise material", but certainly off the mark from "at pitch"?  Can it be done in one pass, or should I begin booking a little more time for my appointments, and charging accordingly?  

  -Ben


  Ben
  Unless the piano is at pitch before you start the tuning, all bets are off with stability. If the piano is 10-15 cents flat then, by all means, mute strip the piano and do a full pitch raise. Then once the piano is in the ballpark, then tuning unisons as you go will deliver a very stable tuning.
  That being said, tuning unisons as you go also requires very advance tuning skills. I'm a big advocate for single mute tuning and find that it yields not only good stability but a better illustration of inharmonicity issues. But it also requires the tuner to have an absolutely solid grasp over the tuning procedure, otherwise the process will take too long and become a laborious process.
  If you are relatively young to the business, use the strip mute and gain better control over the process. As you get better and better, start experimenting  with pianos which are already in pretty decent tune and do a complete tuning using nothing but 2- 3 wedge mutes. You'll find that you become much more sensitive to your octave, fourths, and fifths presentations. You'll also find that you'll pay more attention to making a very clean, useable unison which can be used throughout the tuning process.
  Tom Servinsky



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