Tuning Player Uprights

[Larry Fisher]

Hi all,

Tuning player uprights is not that big a problem....different yes.  I've not
had to remove a player action out of a piano to tune it for decades.  They
can be a bit more work than the ordinary upright, but with the right
attitude you can amass great wealth and prosperity.

I strip mute the piano as I usually do, using a stubby screwdriver.  I use
my usual rubber mutes to tune as I usually do and yes there are obsticles
but they don't make it impossible, but a bit of a challenge is all.  By the
sounds of things, some of you don't need anything of a challenge past
getting up in the morning.

Removing the player action on these old things should be avoided at all
costs.  If this means a bit more effort and frustration on your part for the
duration of an hour to tune a piano, well so be it.  I don't care if they've
been rebuilt or if they're about to fall apart.  The screws, wood and other
materials and parts don't need the yearly activity and exposure to wear and
damage.  They're old and complicated.  Parts for every player I've done in
the past have been increasingly more difficult to find.  Got the picture
here folks??

Removing the player to store somewhere else is a matter of convenience for
the tuner ONLY!!  The customer really doesn't need to be bothered with
storage of the unit somewhere else in their castle when it fits quite
snuggly and securely in the piano it was intended for.  LEAVE IT IN THERE!!
Stop thinking of your own needs and show more consideration for the
customer.  It's their piano, their castle, you are the servant, act like one
for just a little bit and deal with the frustration of the device's
cumbersome and bothersome ways on a professional level.  You learned how to
tune didn't ya??  That in itself is a major lesson in frustration control as
the piano slips back out of tune while you're tuning it.  Deal with the
product on a "concern for the customer's possesions" rather than a selfish
level of "concern for the tuner's comfort and convenience"!!

I don't even like tilting the action back on those that offer that feature.
Some you don't have any choice but to tilt spool box motor out of the way,
but the rest of them I leave them be.  Some Aeolians I use a short piece of
dowel similar to that used for hammer shanks to prop/wedge the spool box far
enough away from the t-pins to allow free passage of my tuning lever.  I try
to incur as little activity on the working parts of these things as possible
for the purpose of basic yearly tunings.  Playing a roll through them is
considered a desirable activity since it helps to keep things limber and
working well.  Removing the player to tune on an annual or bi-annual basis
is a major source of  potential damage and unneccessary wear.

Facilitating repairs is one thing that's unavoidable.  That should be the
only time you need to remove the player action on these old things.
Converse with the customer on the potential of hazards along the way, like
age hardened rubber hose and tubing, lead tubing and fittings that crumble
and break, gaskets that don't let go easily, leather nuts that dissappear
betwixt yer finger tips before yer eyes, DIRT that ends up on white carpet
when you set the action down on the floor, and rubber coated cloth that
sheds rubber chips as you brush up against it.  Fun stuff!!

If you need to tune every piano that comes through your appointment book,
including players, do so with some consideration for others ........
owners, knowledgable techs that follow you, collectors.  Otherwise, can 'em.
Let some other tech tune and care for them.

You cats are professionals.  ACT LIKE ONE!! 
                                    Larry Fisher RPT
   specialist in players, retrofits, and other complicated stuff
      phone 360-256-2999 or email larryf@pacifier.com
         http://www.pacifier.com/~larryf/ (revised 10/96)
           Beau Dahnker pianos work best under water