The Bad News

[Tom Cole]

LHSBAND440@AOL.COM wrote:
> The bad news is that this is soon to be the future of the piano tuning 
> industry.  With ETD's becoming more and more accurate, the common piano 
> player will be able to tune a piano to the same accuracy of a good piano 
> tuner. 

Leo,

It is my wish that every piano owner, with the slightest inkling they
could accomplish the feat, would buy an ETD and attempt their own
tuning. Let them borrow for free an SAT, hammer and mutes. When they
call for me to fix the mess they've made, they'll gladly pay my tuning
fee and will have gained a greater respect for what I do.

Just yesterday someone came up, saw my computer and said, "Well, that
certainly makes the job easier!". Offering him the tuning hammer, I
replied, "Here, you want to try your hand at it?" He said, "Oh, no, I'd
probably break a string." 

Judging by the above and similar encounters I've had, and the number of
phone calls I've gotten requesting to buy a tuning hammer (still in the
single digits), I would hazard a guess that my job security is holding
quite well, thanks. The advantages that ETDs offer amount to better
tools in the technicians tool box. I don't see where they are of much
use to the unskilled.

Tom Cole