Humidity swings

[Clyde Hollinger]

Friends:

I would like to add my two cents to the current discussion.

Regarding David Ilvedson's post:  I am not familiar with the climate in
California, but in my part of Pennsylvania humidity control systems go a
long way toward stabilizing pianos.  I sell each complete system with a
one-year "satisfaction or your money back" guarantee, and even increase
the company's 5-year guarantee on components to seven years (I
personally guarantee the two extra years).  I don't know if that's
important to clients (I guess I should ask), but I don't expect either
guarantee to cost me anything.  They haven't yet.

Regarding John Ross's post:  If you tell your clients not to buy tunings
during the summer, what do you do with your time then?  And are you
swamped with work in the winter, which is when you are telling them to
have their pianos tuned?
	I find myself being evasive when clients ask me, "What is the best time
to have the piano tuned?"  If I answer the way I honestly feel, I will
soon be swamped with work for four months of the year, with little or
nothing to do the rest of the time, unless I want to get into rebuilding
or take a second job, neither of which I'm interested in at this point.

Even if I tune the piano annually at the driest or wettest times of the
year, it will be pretty close if I return the following year during the
same month, but in many cases I am positive it sounds terrible in
between.

One final note:  With our August and September being drier this year
than last year, I find the pianos I tune annually during these months
are almost consistently about five cents flat.  So what do you think
I'll find NEXT year?!  You got it; if we have a normal summer, they will
be five cents sharp!

Clyde Hollinger