B.Y.O.B. party

[Jeff Tanner]

Hey Guys,
I wish the digest had waited one more day to come out.  We've only got 5 of
these here at U South Carolina, and there was a reason the previous tech
said "hell no", when they talked about buying new ones.  Fortunately, 4 of
the 5 we have are in the "general" practice rooms and conveniently get
moved to the bottom of the priority list.  With 120 more instruments, I'm
easily able to prioritize my way around them.  The other is also
conveniently located here in a corner of the shop in "storage".

But I took on an outside job for this afternoon to tune one, and I wish all
this encouragement had waited one more day.  I was already dreading the
job.  Thanks alot!  (can you ethically charge more to tune one of these?)

Oh, by the way, the newer ones are even more fun with several "surprise"
pins strategically placed for maximum tuner insanity.  Changing to larger
pins doesn't help.  (I was "fortunate" enough to get to tune the
twenty-something new ones at UGA about 3 years ago.  They've got about 45
of them altogether, and 5 Ks.  You can't do but one of those new Ks a day.)

The way I got to where I handled the 1098s is to tune them as quickly as
possible (one 20-30 minute pass).  Spending a lot of time only makes a
difference to your mental health.  They'll be better than they were and the
stability is surprisingly good.  Trying to make them sound good is a waste
of time and can increase your auto insurance rates.

Why doesn't settling the strings to the bridge and v bar get out any of the
false beats?

Why does the volume get softer when you hit the key harder?  (I'm guessing
crappy travelling?)

Why did they put that new jack stop rail in there so you can't get a
screwdriver to the butt flange screw?  (maybe this is the reason for the
crappy travelling?)

Why doesn't Steinway do something about these things?

AHHHHHHHH!

Yes, my after work beverage will probably be somewhat stronger this afternoon.

Jeff

Jeff Tanner
Piano Technician
School of Music
University of South Carolina
Columbia, SC 29208
(803)-777-4392 (phone)