[pianotech] Pitch raise criteria

[John Formsma]

As an aural tuner, my criteria:
For concert tunings, if it's more than 2-3 cents, it really needs a pitch
raise. Otherwise, you'll be constantly wrestling with it. Even at 2 cents
difference, I make judgments as to where I think the piano will end up as
unisons are tuned. For example, I might tune the middle string of an octave
intentionally sharp so that it will drop to the right place as everything
else is tuned.

For non-concert tunings, I can usually make things work if it's within 8
cents.  But it really depends on the customer. If they are wanting accuracy
over cost, and are willing to pay for a pitch correction, it will certainly
result in a better tuning. If the customer is willing to settle for less
accuracy to save money, I'll do the best I can in one pass.

Perhaps an ETD will result in a better end result with a single pass, tuning
unisons as you go. But even with an ETD, two passes are better. With either
method, your own experience will become your best teacher. As you observe
how many different pianos react to pitch corrections, you'll get better at
predicting that reaction. And you'll know what you are capable of. It's a
guessing game, but you get better at it the more you do it. It's also kind
of fun, in a sick tuner sort of way. :-)

--
JF

On Sat, Aug 1, 2009 at 6:27 PM, Rob McCall <rob at mccallpiano.com> wrote:

> Greetings list,
>
> I just tuned a Samick JS-118 upright yesterday that hadn't been tuned in 7
> years (It had 1 tuning right after they bought it brand new and that was
> it!).  It was flat by about 73 cents below the break, and about 45 cents
> flat above the break.  Pretty consistent throughout.  All in all, it turned
> out very well after a pitch raise and then a fine tune.
>
> My question to all of you...  What do you use as your criteria for charging
> extra for pitch raises?  When is it a "pitch raise" to you? This particular
> piano was pretty clear cut, but do you have a point of no return?  20-25
> cents? Less or more?
>
> I use a SAT IV along with some aural checks to back the machine up...
>
> I'm still earning my wings in this industry and I'm trying to get an idea
> of what is considered normal (if there is such a thing!). Thanks in advance.
>
> Regards,
>
> Rob McCall
> Murrieta, CA
>
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