stability of pitch raises (Ron's question)

[Ron Nossaman]

>> So here is the question, restated so I don't have to go dig it out again:
>> For those who prorate pitch adjustment charges according to how far off
>> pitch the piano is, how do you determine how far off pitch the piano is?
>
>I thought I had answered this one clearly also, but maybe a couple examples
>would help (examples are a 1972 Kohler & Campbell console - average
>condition). I measure the initial pitch of As between and including A1 and
>A7 and I measure the pitch of all Ds between and including D1 and D7. I'll
>throw out one or two outliers and use the greatest amount of pitch deviation
>that appears to be representative of at least one section of piano.
>
>Example #1: The As were 8, 6, 22, 24, 16, 18, 28 cents flat, respectively.
>The Ds were similar. I would say the piano is more than 20 cents flat and
>this client will be charged for one full pitch raise pass plus the tuning
>fee.
>
>Example #2: The As were 25, 26, 25, 25, 42, 38, 40 cents flat, respectively.
>I did not measure the Ds (it sounded like other notes were consistent with
>this). I would say the piano is 40 cents flat and this client will be
>charged for one full pitch raise pass plus the tuning fee. Regular tuning
>charge for a subsequent tuning pass is additional.
>
>Example #3: The As were 3, 4, 15, 16, 12, 13, 14 cents flat, respectively.
>The Ds were 4, 5, 16, 15, 11, 14, 14 cents flat, respectively. The center
>section is about 15 cents flat. I will charge my client $30 to raise this
>piano to standard pitch ($2 per cent flat, up to $40 per pass). Regular
>tuning charge for a subsequent tuning pass is additional.
>
>Example #4: The As were 0, 0, 5, 6, 7, 5, 6 cents flat, respectively. The Ds
>were 0, 0, 5, 6, 7, 5, 6 cents flat, respectively. The center section is
>about 6 cents flat. I will charge my client $12 to raise this piano to
>standard pitch ($2 per cent flat, up to $40 per pass). Regular tuning charge
>for a subsequent tuning pass is additional.
>
>Example #5: The As were 4, 4, 0, 8, 2, 5, 4 cents flat, respectively. The Ds
>were 4, 3, 0, 7, 3, 5, 4 cents flat, respectively. All sections average less
>than 5 cents flat. I will not charge my client to raise this piano to
>standard pitch (5-cent threshold for pitch raising fees). Regular tuning
>charge for a subsequent tuning pass will be charged. In my opinion, this
>piano will have a noticably better tuning with two passes.
>
>Example #6: The As were +2, +4, -4, -4, +2, +2, +2 cents off pitch,
>respectively. The Ds were +2, +4, -4, -4, +2, +2, +2 cents off pitch,
>respectively. All sections average less than 5 cents off pitch. I will not
>charge my client to raise this piano to standard pitch (5-cent threshold for
>pitch raising fees). Regular tuning charge for a subsequent tuning pass will
>be charged. In my opinion, this piano will have a noticably better tuning
>with two passes. I would be using a small pitch offset in the various
>sections to help the first pass come closer to pitch. One pass would tend to
>leave the piano a tad sharp in bass and treble and a bit flat in tenor
>
>Example #7: The As were 0, 0, 2, 2, 2, 1, 3 cents flat, respectively. The Ds
>were 0, 0, 1, 3, 2, 2, 3 cents flat, respectively. All sections average less
>than 5 cents flat. I will not charge my client to raise this piano to
>standard pitch (5-cent threshold for pitch raising fees). Regular tuning
>charge for a subsequent tuning pass will be charged. In my opinion, this
>piano will have a noticably better tuning with two passes.
>
>Example #8: The As were 90, 75, 60, 58, 75, 85, 90 cents flat, respectively.
>The Ds were similar. The treble section is about 85 cents flat. I know that
>the treble will be more than 100 cents flat by the time my pitch raise will
>progress to that point. To minimize the risk of string breakage I will
>recommend one pitch raise pass for the bass and tenor sections, and two
>passes through the treble section - the first targeting standard pitch with
>no overpull, the second with the 33% overpull. 1-1/2 total pitch raises. I
>will charge my client $60 to raise this piano to standard pitch ($40 per
>full pitch raise pass). Regular tuning charge for a subsequent tuning pass
>is additional.
>
>This is indeed NOT an exact science. But I do believe it is a reasonable way
>to characterize the state of pitch for the piano. It is the method I have
>found to best characterize how much effort will be involved in getting the
>piano up to standard pitch. If I am going to charge extra for a pitch raise,
>and base my fee on how many pitch raises it will take, and base how many
>pitch raises it will take on the degree of flatness, I need to come up with
>a number. This process gives me a good working number.
>
>Terry Farrell

Again Terry, your explanation is just fine for what you do and how you do
it, but in that particular post, I was asking Gina.

Ron N