In a message dated 97-01-09 19:20:44 EST, Willem Blees wrote: << I wonder if the problem has to do with her definition of "sharp". >> I've just returned from a trip and noted with interest the customer's justifiable sense that the bass of a properly tuned LaPetite sounds "sharp." I could also characterize it as "busy" or "nervous." Willem called attention to the need to understand what a customer means by the words she uses, which may be different from our usage. I recently wasted an hour going over a Mason & Hamlin T3 Grand that I had regulated and voiced for a customer 2-3 years ago. The complaint was of an unwanted "ping." After rechecking the string leveling and getting ready to voice it down some more, (which I assumed he wanted), I suddenly noted a completely different sound, which I would not myself have called a "ping." My name would have been "tweak" or "twick," the one that occurs when releasing a key. I called the customer to listen and played a note that had a particularly hard damper, and asked if it was the sound it made on releasing, and he said, "that's it!" It pays to listen, and having heard, open your mind to other possibilities than the idea that first pops into your head. Then ask enough questions to make sure you are narrowing in on the problem. Back to the LaPetite - you have received a lot of good advice, which I cannot improve on. Tuning aurally, I have never had any complaints on my tuning of a LaPetite except for my own -- the bass never sounds in tune, the best I can do. Bill Maxim, RPT
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