Maybe they should all try to tune their own pianos....

[Mark Davidson]

Interesting.  I'm North Carolina where the temp is currently 73F
(at 9AM)and the dew point is 70F. Just the opposite.  I can 
have my piano tuned in March and it's pretty good for at least
six months. I don't bother to tune in January because it'll be
out in 2 months.

Sweating is not optional here.

Reminds me of the argument between two technicians about whether
air conditioning lowered relative humidity or raised it.  They
were both right, only one was in Arizona and the other in Florida.

Anyway I'm guilty of having tuned my own (using Tunelab) 
for that January tuning.  Without breaking strings (but I
practiced on an old upright first).  I don't think you guys 
have too much to worry about.  It takes me >3 hours and still
doesn't sound as good as a good tuner can do.

-Mark

> 
> Hi List,
>I try to discourage tunings in the summer here. 
>The humidity just fluctuates too much, for the tuning to 
>stay. At the University where I tune, they 
>insist on Sept. and Jan., in Sept. I lower the pitch in 
>some areas 30c, and in Jan. I lower it 30c. Although this 
>year I may 'float' some of them a bit so the swing is not so
>much.
>
>I tell people to put it off till after the high humidity is
>gone. It has started already, yesterday the last house was 
>80F and 69%RH. If they play the piano through the summer, I
>recommend a D/C system.
>
>Then again I like the summers off. I just switched my furnace
>off last week, and it will have to go back on mid Sept. We 
>have a short summer. I just hate to perspire (sweat), when I
>tune, and the houses up here are generally not air 
>conditioned. 
>
>Regards
>
>John M. Ross
>Windsor, Nova Scotia, Canada
>jrpiano@win.eastlink.ca