List, I appreciate all the feedback. The only RPT in my area who just retired was "outstanding;" now I have to pick up some customers who have certain expectations of what a tuner should be - most noteable on tuning time. On this Steinway console, it took him " an hour and a half " and took me two and a half because he left the thing 60 cents flat. As I did my pitch raising duty, I began to wonder an hour and a half into the tuning (my normal time) if this was a special piano that required a special technician... And to explain why it took so long to the customer. Ahhhhhhhhhhhh. Thanks again for the input! Jay Mercier >From: "Brian Trout" <btrout@desupernet.net> >Reply-To: pianotech@ptg.org >To: <pianotech@ptg.org> >Subject: Re: Steinway console tuning >Date: Wed, 10 May 2000 00:02:59 -0400 > >Hi Jay, > >I see you've discovered the dreaded Steinway vertical. They're not so easy >to tune well, but they can be tuned. > >A couple of things that have helped me... > >1) Don't be in a hurry. It only compounds the frustration levels when you >haven't enough time to do the job to your own satisfaction. I will >routinely schedule an extra half hour or so when I know I have to tune a >1098. > >2) Psychologically and emotionally prepare yourself for a difficult >tuning. >If you know that you'll have a challenging time with the tuning ahead of >time, you can have your head in order to proceed without the emotional >baggage that comes from expecting an easy job and having a hard one placed >before you. > >3) ...this one might be controversial... I have found that using an >electronic tuner can help a bit. The top two sections of these pianos are >typically the most difficult to get the pins set. The 'machines' have a >very sensitive ear. When you have a note tuned to where you think it >should >go, a very few test blows and watching whatever indicator your machine has >will very quickly tell you whether or not that pin is set and tension >fairly >well equalized. The machine will hear it much more quickly than your ear >if >the pitch is starting to drift. > >(Sidenote: My laptop and the associated tuning programs are a tool. They >are a wonderful servant, but a horrible master.) > >4) Don't sweat the idea that the customer might see you taking a little >longer to tune their piano than the last guy. Everybody has their own >tuning style, and some are faster than others. Different pianos are >different. Some tune very easily, and some don't. I don't make any >apology >for being a little slow, especially for one of those 1098s. > >You've gotten several suggestions about how to use your tuning hammer i.e. >positions and handling techniques. I've seen suggestions to use a bit of >Protec on the upper bearing points as well in other threads. Some have >found that to be helpful with string rendering. Hopefully you'll find the >suggestions to be of use. But hang in there. Although I never actually >recommend anyone buy one of these pianos, there are those who do end up >owning them. Many times, they are people who do care about their pianos >and >intend to have them serviced. If you intend to offer your services to >these >people, it's up to you to make the best you can out of the situation, and >see if you can actually become a better tuner, maybe even a better person >for meeting the 1098 and experiencing victory in a job well done. Much of >the way we see our world is in our own attitude and the decisions we make, >in how we react to those things around us, good or bad. > >So much for the pep talk. > >Have a good one. > >Brian Trout >Quarryville, PA >btrout@desupernet.net > > ________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com
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