[CAUT] Re. "Voicing a D"

[James Ellis]

Wim,

I would not dare suggest anything specific for you to do to fix the
two-year-old D's "voicing problem" (if there really is one), and here's why.

When prople say the piano "has a tone with a wave that it too wide" or "too
narrow", or that the piano "won't quite let them connect with it", and
things like that, it suggests one of three things to me.  1) They want
something they don't have, but they don't know what it is, 2) they are
trying to impress their peers. or 3) both of the above.  In any case, it's
often a no-winner for the piano technician.

Here is the only suggestion I can offer:  Ask the parties involved for some
time of your own ALONE and UN-DISTURBED with the piano.  Give it another
good tuning, making the octaves and unisons as clean as possible,
especially the unisons.  Listen to the voicing yourself.  Do what YOUR ears
tell you to do, and NOTHING else.  Make sure everyting works just right -
no hang-ups anywhere.  Check over it again and make sure YOU are satisfied
with it in every respect.  If YOU hear or feel a problem, then there really
is a problem, and you will have to deal with it.  

But if YOU like the piano after you have done all these things, then tell
the parties concerned that you have fixed it; that it really sounds and
plays great now, and to come back and try it.  About 90 percent of the
time, they will like it, or at least they will say they do.

It's great when a pianist knows what he/she wants, and can tell you so.
Otherwise, this is a gray area that's hard to deal with, because some
people just don't know what they want, and they wouldn't know how to
describe it to you even if they did.

Jim Ellis