[pianotech] justify pitch raise

[Ron Nossaman]

David Love wrote:
> I agree, 8 cents is too much to expect that the piano won't have some
> wobblies somewhere.  Three to four cents is my general limit and even then
> that's pushing it (although I have been known to push it on
> occasion...shhh).  Plate flexing makes the most sense otherwise on a board
> where you've pushed the crown through to negative wouldn't letting off the
> tension raise the pitch :-)?  Kidding of course (before anyone takes me
> seriously).
> 
> David Love

Actually, I meant the other way. I don't have a clientèle that 
will tolerate two pitch correction fees a year no matter how 
wretched their climate control is. Schools, churches, or 
individuals, I need to be able to satisfy them (not me, or 
some established testing criteria) in one pass for a standard 
tuning price - or in the case of a couple of universities, a 
reduced price. That means the best shot in one pass in 45 
minutes to 60 minutes for the private tuning, to 35-50 minutes 
for university bulk work. Trying to do concert level work in 
these instances is like doing ice sculpture in a desert 
sandstorm, and these people know this. For the most part, 
they've tried plenty of other tuners, and settled on me 
because I can do what for them is an acceptable (or better) 
tuning in minimum time at a price that's higher than they've 
paid anyone else, when no one else has met the standards at 
any price they've been willing to test. It's value for the 
money. I can't pack sand up the administration's collective, 
uh, canyon, and try to convince them that paying for pitch 
adjustments will net them a significantly better tuning for 
more than the time it takes to flush the excess sand from the 
canyon. They've seen the pianos go out of tune by Tuesday, if 
they ever were in any semblance of tune in the first place, 
and aren't impressed by a dog and pony shows from the other 
guys. If the piano was last tuned at 75%RH, and it's not 
(momentarily) 23%RH, I'll give it my best shot one pass, and 
they'll either understand and appreciate it, or pay me to 
perpetually and futilely do multiple pass pitch corrections. I 
won't do multiple passes without pay for the time and 
equipment wear. So far, they've been *thrilled* with the 
results, for between 10 and 20 years respectively.

A first tuning for a new client, I'll do, and charge for, the 
pitch raise to get the piano into the loop. After that, we'll 
find the balance between climate control, price, and 
performance that works for them.

My world,
Ron N