Sweet Betsy from...

[Farrell]

Some pianos will amaze you. Yesterday I tuned (for the third time) a
Steinway L that the lady had bought a few years ago "rebuilt" (new strings,
dampers, hammers and a paint job) from the local Steinway dealer. I last
tuned it 16 months ago. It sits right next to a three-pane sliding glass
patio door leading out to the pool. All I really did was clean up some
unisons. 95% of the notes were within one cent of target - and maybe there
were up to a half-dozen in the low tenor that were up to 2 cents off. I
reached under the belly rail expecting to find a hot DC rod - but none was
installed.

Very stable piano. Amazed me. I remember when I tuned it that I was
concerned whether the tuning would last long enough for me to cash the check
because the tuning pins are very tight and they did the 1098-type
flagpoling. But I guess I did something right.

Maybe that's what is amazing!

And BTW, no killer octave. Pretty nice piano (horrible bicord section
though - sounded like it belonged on Conrad's Betsy Ross spinet).

Terry Farrell

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Conrad Hoffsommer" <hoffsoco@martin.luther.edu>
To: <pianotech@ptg.org>
Sent: Friday, August 20, 2004 1:20 PM
Subject: Sweet Betsy from...


> Folks,
>
> This week I tuned my favourite PSO for the first time since December
> '01.  A blond oak, Lester Betsy Ross 36" spinet.
>
> It resides in a ranch home (read: concrete slab floor), on the north wall,
> picture window to one side, front door to the other side and sitting in
> front of the forced air heat return duct. Original (current) owner bought
> it new in '51.
>
> My RCT said that the pitch of A4 was 440.68Hz!  Bass section was mostly
> within a cent and the treble had a fair number of notes which were dead
> on.  This was after moving it back in place after they had moved it out to
> clean behind. They didn't want me to think they had been abusing it, and I
> feared for my life when she came at me with the vacuum as soon as I took
> off the bottom panel to adjust the pedals.
>
> Yeah, it's still a spinet, but it sure wins the stability award!
>
> Conrad Hoffsommer, RPT, MPT, CCT, PFP, ACS, CRS.
> Decorah, IA
>
> - Certified Calibration Technician for Bio-powered Digitally Activated
> Lever Action Tone Generation Systems.
> - Pianotech Flamesuit Purveyor
> - American Curmudgeon Society - Apprentice Member and Founder
>
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>