room climate control

[David Patterson]

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Wouldn't it be great if a list collection existed for all of the different
analogies and descriptions used by us to cover this subject? Dean, I cannot
imagine it being stated more elegantly than you have done here! It goes to
the root of "What is quality?"

David Patterson, RPT

Patterson and Company

Exclusively Dampp-Chaser Piano Life Saver Specialists for 15 Years



  -----Original Message-----
  From: Dean May [mailto:deanmay@pianorebuilders.com]
  Sent: July 14, 2005 10:32 AM
  To: 'Pianotech'
  Subject: RE: room climate control


  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

    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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