room climate control

[Dean May]

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Yes these systems really work and it may require a rethinking of how we
market the need for tuning. 3 to 7 cents sharp in the middle means that
the piano won't sound awful and may not even be really noticeable to the
customer but it will definitely make it sound a little ripe. The
customer may not be able to identify the sound as being out of tune
because the onset is so gradual. But it certainly won't be performing at
its optimum. 
 
In such situation I relay to the customer that oftentimes people tell me
that they find themselves playing the piano more right after it gets
tuned. This is because the piano sounds so great! They are getting more
enjoyment out of their playing and they will play it more. As it
gradually starts drifting it won't really sound out of tune but they
won't get as much enjoyment and may find themselves playing it less. 
 
The question is when did the piano get to be 3 to 7 cents sharp? I
suspect it wasn't just the week before you got there. It was probably
+/- 2 to 3 at 4 months and +/- 3 to 7 at 9 months. That means for most
of the year that she has waited to get her piano tuned it has been out
of tune, it has not been optimum. It may have sounded "okay" but she has
been cheating herself out of what her piano is capable of. 
 
The answer to the question of "how often should I get it tuned?" is how
badly do you want it to go out before you get it retuned? Most of us
could return to one of our tunings a week or two later and do some
tweaking. The piano starts to go out as soon as we are done tuning. The
goal of a regular tuning schedule is to keep the piano IN TUNE and not
to let it get OUT OF TUNE. Alan's customer is a classical pianist. She
needs her piano to be in tune every time she sits down to play. For it
to be out 7 cents is way too much for such a pianist, even though it may
sound "okay." Does she want her ears to become accustomed to the sound
of an out of tune piano? Because that is what she is training them to
accept by allowing her piano to go out that much. 
 
Dean
Dean May             cell 812.239.3359
PianoRebuilders.com   812.235.5272
Terre Haute IN  47802
 
-----Original Message-----
From: pianotech-bounces@ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces@ptg.org] On
Behalf Of Alan Barnard
Sent: Wednesday, July 13, 2005 10:43 PM
To: Pianotech
Subject: RE: room climate control
 
Piano: 1903 Steinway S, nice home, older lady, excellent classical
pianist, A/C seldom used even though we have tropical, steamy summers.
Installed a full DC about 14 months ago, tuned it two months later. No
undercover, for reasons too complicated to explain.
 
Story: Called for 6 month tuning, she said it "sounded okay" and she'd
like to wait 'til it's been a year (We've heard THAT before, haven't
we?). Tuned the piano this morning (12 months). The center notes were
about 3 to 7 cents sharp (the remains of Hurricane What'sitsname just
dumped two days of rain on us), the bass was ON, the treble was CLOSE,
the high treble was ON. I did very little actual pin turning to tune
that piano.
 
Result: She said: "Isn't that great. I can just tune it once a year!"
Hmmm .... happy customer, annual tuning fees cut in half for her-and for
me, dang it. I've got her half talked into a full reg/voicing job which
the piano desperately needs, so that'll help make up for it.
 
Moral: Once again, I have seen and heard results that make me a staunch,
avid, perhaps rabid believer in DC systems. As long as they are kept
plugged in and maintained (a big IF in many cases...) they really,
really work.
 
Alan Barnard
Salem, Missouri
 
 
----- Original Message ----- 
From: Piano Forte Supply <mailto:pianoforte@pianofortesupply.com>  
To: pianotech@ptg.org
Sent: 07/13/2005 4:59:41 PM 
Subject: room climate control
 

I have a client with a 7' Kawai grand in a basement studio.  The
Relative Humidity  is always on the high side (60%).  I urged him to
monitor the humidity with an electronic hygrometer and to get a
dehumidifier.

He did this, however the controller on the dehumidifier in very
inaccurate.  With the controller set at 40%, it cut out when the
humidity is still above 60%.  The manufacturer told him they are all not
precise.  He has searched for higher end units, but even the
manufacturers of these do not guarantee the precision of their
controllers.

I would prefer to control the environment in the studio because it
"should" be a straight forward thing to do.  I feel a Piano Life Saver
System will simply always be fighting the higher humidity in the room.

I have thought of using a Piano Life Saver humidistat to control a
simple room de-humidifier.  Would this work?  Would he need a re! lay
between the humidistat and the de-humidifier?

Any thoughts, and especially experiences, welcome.

Jurgen Goering
www.pianofortesupply.com 

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