Da Bugzz

[Ron Nossaman]

Hi Mike,

Looks like a situation where you could expand your income potential... Piano
Service and Pest Control. Perhaps you could get the custodian(s) to close
the doors once in a while. %-)  While I've never experienced the "buzzing
near/dead fly" syndrome (how BIG are these hummers anyway?), I once launched
a fair sized spider up out of a grand action ("killer" octave 5 1/2 - 6,
what do you think, Del, any connection? Bugs in the design, and all that?)
during a tuning. He cleared the lid just fine and did a very impressive
series of aerial gymnastics, losing points on the landing, however, by
piling into the tuning pins upside down. Except for a faint scream at the
height of the trajectory, the performance was otherwise silent. In the case
you mentioned, the spiders probably don't care at all about the piano's
vibrations. They're after those flys! 

Must be time to go to work,  Ron

 

At 02:43 PM 11/11/97 +0000, you wrote:
>More Buzzes and Creeping Things:
>    At CMU, flies burn themselves on the stage lights, fall down and lay
>wounded on the floor or in the piano. When the piano is played, the
>flies are stimulated and buzz.  About that M, check the damper stop
>rail, this critter and/or its' screws could be it.  Another buzz which
>"came right from the soundboard decal" turned out to be the rear caster
>contacting unevenly with the floor which had a small dent.
>      Has anyone else noticed that spiders are attracted to piano tones
>during tuning, perhaps thinking the vibrations are prey?  I've had them
>hang all around me and watched them head toward the piano no matter what
>I do, (not good for arachniphobic piano tuners).
>-Mike Jorgensen.
>


 Ron Nossaman