No, but I once tuned a nice grand for a performance that evening in a downtown building lobby about 15 feet from a jackhammer going at full tilt. AccuTuner with a magnetic pickup. Yamaha C3, FAC, and all unisons by machine (only time in my life). I could not hear a thing. I never got to hear the piano after tuning. My contact at the building said the next day that the pianist said the piano was "just fine". Terry Farrell Piano Tuning & Service Tampa, Florida mfarrel2@tampabay.rr.com ----- Original Message ----- From: "Richard Brekne" <Richard.Brekne@grieg.uib.no> To: "PTG" <pianotech@ptg.org> Sent: Friday, September 29, 2000 6:34 PM Subject: Days > Speaking of these...grin... sheeshh what an experience I had today. > > Got called tuesday to do a job for the local Jazz club. I know these guys > so I had expected that this was going to be a pretty straightforward job, > even tho it was a special consert in an unusual location. The place was an > old factory, they make nails and hardware and such stuff. Huge open > production hall... not attractive in the slightest really, but they did > their best at making it presentable.. > > Anyways I show up at the agreed upon time and they got this processing > machine going. I mean this sucker was really loud. Musta been 90 dbs or so > going all the time. They had a truck going to just in front of the stage, > you know, one of those lift trucks for hoisting up lightings and speakers > and such. Diesel driven thing. I thought that that was what was making all > the noise so I waited while they finished up with that (about 10 minutes). > When they turned it off I couldnt hear any difference... it was the process > machine making so much noise.. so much that I couldnt even hear the truck > going right in front of the stage. I was amazed.. They werent about to turn > off this machine of theirs either. Administration had aggreed to turn it of > 10 minutes before the concert was to begin. > > I of course just shook my head and said this was absurdly hopeless and that > I would have to just pack up and leave. So a couple factory jocks show up > just as I was about to leave. And this is where the story REALLY gets > pathetic. These two guys show up with those mickey mouse ears on... you > know the hearing protection things. They get right up in my face and open > one ear and ask (as in screaming so as to be heard) why I cant tune the > piano.. Incredulous.. This machine was making the most incredible amount of > noise. You could get right up to this grand and bang out a big chord as > hard as you wanted to and you couldnt hardly notice the sound of the piano > through this noise... A constant... Bdadadadagdeadadagdaa with a few > Tsjiiaa's thrown in from time to time as the steam overflow was released. > > I can not for the life of me come even close to being able to fathom how > anyone who resembles in the slightest a sane half intellegent gorilla with > an IQ problem could in their wildest fantasy dream that any living (or > mechanical) being in this universe could even come close to being able to > tune a piano in that noise. > > On top of it all, on showing up and calling my contact for closer driving > directions to this building within the factory complex,,, the fellow was > too busy to talk to me and just told me to find someone around to get > directions, then he hung up on me without further adui. It was raining > elephants and giraffes so no one was about to stop and chat you know. > > All in all, an insult to my intellegence...and I told them so. The fellow > responsible for the artists called an hour or so later to ask if I could > come later on that evening just before the consert (with a hall full of > people mind you) and go over the piano then... I would have all of 15 > minutes he assured me.... grin.. > > I mean really... can you top this one ???? > > -- > Richard Brekne > RPT, N.P.T.F. > Bergen, Norway > > >
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