Tuning in public places.

[Warren Fisher]

Andrew,
If you get one of those sticks that come with a new pianos  and cut it so
that it extends over the sides of the keys by a half inch or so, place it
behind the black key tops and when you put the action in far enough  for
the hammers to clear the pin block, hook your thumbs on the front of the
keyframe and then press down on the stick with your fingers while pushing
the action home, you will miss the fingers, unless one is already bent and
stuck up high, but I assume you would look first.  
Hah! Try to read all that in one breath!! :-)
Warren

Warren Fisher- RPT
Navy Retired - Slidell, Louisiana 
98 2500 Dodge Cummins TD, DTT Auto, Smart Controller, E-Brake,  ATF, EGT,
and Boost gauges, Mag Hytec tranny and differential pans, Aux. tranny
cooler, 4" exhaust, monster air filter, engine 125 hp upgrade.
02 Titanium fiver 28E33, aerodynamic front end, 2-120W solr panls,
Friendship 2000 invrtr, 
four Lifeline absorbed glass mat battries, Honda 5000 genset


> [Original Message]
> From: Andrew and Rebeca  Anderson <anrebe@sbcglobal.net>
> To: Pianotech <pianotech@ptg.org>
> Date: 7/31/2005 12:25:14 PM
> Subject: Tuning in public places.
>
> For your entertainment,
> I recently tuned a Kohler & Campbell with a Samick scale plate and 
> all single strung for the headquarters of the Laredo National 
> Bank.  This is in a glassed over lobby (sunny in the AM) and business 
> happens all around it.  There are lots of people going back and forth 
> so I put my business cards on the lid while I was tuning (half of 
> them gone afterwards).  The piano was not tuned in a long time, 
> probably not since the dealer delivery tuning.  There were regulation 
> problems and a broken hammer to boot.
>
> What was amusing is how people reacted to the work in progress.  I 
> hold a thumper in my fist and test often when pitch 
> correcting.  People would stop and stare.  I use a VT100, especially 
> when pitch correcting, which they found very fascinating  (got 
> another job because of that).
>
> The security guards liked to relieve their boredom by coming over and 
> striking up conversations.  I can talk while thumping if they can 
> too. ;-)  One bank exec. type simply couldn't wait and when I was 
> about a third of the way through my second pass said, "Don't mind 
> me," sat down beside me and started playing the first movement to 
> Beethovan's 'Moonlight' sonata.  At which point I did stop thumping. :-D
>
> Five hours, three & 1/2 passes and damper easing, lube and sostuneto 
> regulation later the piano sounded OK for a Samick.
>
> This one has a PianoDisc system on it.  Any special considerations 
> for regulating one of these? other than the annoyance of having to 
> lift over the player fingers?  Any way to lower those finger while 
> working on it?  It needs voicing too and that would be a real pain 
> going in and out a lot like I do.
>
> Chilling in, in Texas,
> Andrew
>
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