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<DIV><FONT face=Arial>Wow!</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>Why are you ETD ers so touchy. I don't think I said
one thing against tuners that use ETD's other than my experience with the old
lady. Have you gotten so touchy about the mere mention of aural tuning you take
it as an attack. The fact is that I have thought many times about investing in
one. It would be especially nice as you say in noisy situations and I guess I
can see that it probably could be a help in pitch raise and if you prefer to use
them that is fine. I also know and have a number of friends that use them and
are excellent "RPT" tuners.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>I will also admit to you that about the only thing I know
about an ETD other than Siemens of course, is that it has a screen. I know
that you are now going to say I should go check them out. Folks, I am 69
years old as of last week and going on 22. If I bought one of those things, my
teacher, Dr. William Braid White would do a back flip in his grave.I have cut my
work load down to three pianos a day. I retired when I quit working on
Saturday. I also wouldn't think about tuning a piano before 10am or after 4
pm. I can tune a piano, usually in an hour to an hour and a half. I take in
one action at a time and am backed up on action work for about 3 months--yeh! I
do it because I like to do it and I do it when I want to.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>Don't be so bloomin touchy ETDers. I have got one
question. How do you hear the piano when you have plugs in your
ears?</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>On page 57 under Tuning in the Steinway Technical service
guide. ( you ought to get one) I quote:</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>"Steinway & Sons stresses the importance of aural
tuning. Developing piano tone is a mechanical and musical art. Solid aural
tuning exercises and develops the musical ear, giving the technician a greater
ability to master the methods used in tone building."</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>You don't need to holler and get
upset with me----Holler at Mr. Steinway.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>Some day I think I will probably check the ETDs out if for
no other reason but curiosity. There is maybe one thing you ETDers can
help me with. Just about every week or two I get a call from someone in the area
who has just had their piano tuned and are very unhappy with the extreme last
octave in the bass. This isn't just one tuner that I run into. Invariably
the last octave is so far sharp it is dissonant. Any kid with a years lessons
would hear it. There is no way any tuner has listened to this. Is there
something about ETDs that don't hear that last octave?</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>Hang loose people. There are plenty pianos out there for
all of us.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>Ron</FONT></DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE
style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<DIV
style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: black"><B>From:</B>
<A title=tune4u@earthlink.net href="mailto:tune4u@earthlink.net">Alan
Barnard</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A title=pianotech@ptg.org
href="mailto:pianotech@ptg.org">Pianotech List</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Saturday, March 18, 2006 1:00
AM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> RE: MY ETD IS MADE BY SIEMENS--
IT'S CALLED A HEARING AID</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>I'm NOT trying to pick a fight here, but some of these posts
sound kind of "aurallier than thou," to me, and </FONT><FONT size=4>I
thought (and hoped) we'd gotten past that years ago.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>I personnally believe in being proficient in both aural and
ETD tuning. But people who do use ETDs tend to use them most of the time.
There is a reason for that: it's easier and for many operations, like one-pass
pitch raises, it is faster and more accurate for most tuners. Also, in noisy
environments you just can't beat 'em.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>While it is unquestionably true that the ear hears many
things that machines do not (voicing and unwanted noise as prime examples), it
is equally true that the machine has capabilities that the ear does not, e.g.,
string diagnostics, strength of partials (an aid to voicing), spectrum
analysis of difficult unisons (high treble, especially), etc.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>So, ears? ETDs? I use both. I am amazed at the ability of so
many outstanding aural-only tuners, and I am also cognizant that some of the
finest concert performance tuners are, unabashedly, ETD
tuners.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>The late, great George Defebaugh said (with reference to
ETDs): "If you live long enough, every tuner will need these someday." Okay,
and/or or maybe hearing aids.</FONT></DIV><FONT size=4></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>Another point: Some types of hearing loss can be remarkably
compensated by hearing aids. Others cannot. Depends on the pathology and
neurology involved, I suppose.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>Yet another point: I certainly have encountered pianos which
were last tuned by very experienced aural tuners who were obviously just
guessing at the extremes of the piano, especially the treble. If I get to that
point, I will be thrilled to whip out the old Pocket PC, punch up Tunelab, and
get that high treble dead on.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>There is no shame, nor is there any particular
nobility, in being either an ETD tuner or an aural tuner, and
there is real advantage to being both, IMH?O.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>Do we agree that ALL that really counts are results,
i.e., sweetly tuned pianos, happy customers, and a jingle in the tuner's
pocket?</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>Alan Barnard</FONT></DIV>
<DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>Salem, Missouri</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>P.S. And yes, by all means, get your hearing checked and
protect what you have!</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE
style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid">
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt Arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<DIV
style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: black"><B>From:</B>
<A title=ronmay_rpt@bellsouth.net href="mailto:ronmay_rpt@bellsouth.net">RON
MAY, RPT</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To: </B><A title=joegarrett@earthlink.net
href="mailto:joegarrett@earthlink.net">joegarrett@earthlink.net</A>;<A
title=pianotech@ptg.org href="mailto:pianotech@ptg.org">Pianotech
List</A></DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> 03/17/2006 10:52:08 PM </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> MY ETD IS MADE BY SIEMENS--
IT'S CALLED A HEARING AID</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV><FONT size=2>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Hi Techs</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Hopefully I can help everyone or someone
a bit.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>I received my second hearing aid about 6 months
ago. I am a 69 year old Aural tuner who sees absolutely no benefit in ever
owning an Tunlab or whatever. I am a concert tuner and to this day will put
my tuning up against any of you. Among my customers are 4 phd's in
piano performance, one master in piano performance, a large number of piano
teachers etc.etc.etc. Oh Yeah---I am an rpt.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>I can remember my concerns about getting a
hearing aid. I wondered what my customers would think, "a piano tuner
with a hearing aid" sure. The fact is that over the past 8 years I
have been wearing and aid. I have never had one person ever even
question it. I have discussed it with people, usually with customers who
also had aids and wanted to know what kind I had and why I liked them. I,
like everyone else that wears an aid never realized what I was missing until
I received my first one. For what it is worth, I can still do a good job
tuning a piano without the aids but they are such a great assistance I hate
to be without them.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>There were certain pianos that I always noticed
were harder for me to hear the beats in than others. The absolute
worst for me was a 50s vintage Acrosonic.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>It was my ear nose and throat physician that
recommended originally that I get my hearing checked. The Audiologist worked
within the same office as the physician. The test showed some loss over all
but particularly nerve damage in some of the higher frequencies. The
audiologist suggested that I try and aid. Most of the Audiologist have
a free 30 day+ trial. The very first piano I happened upon wearing my first
aid was a 50s Acrosonic. When I started to set the first 5th I tweaked up
the volume a little and "wow" those beats jumped out of that piano like I
couldn't believe. It didn't take me long to become a true
believer.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>I would not recommend any tuner getting the
newer digital, automatic volume control aids. I have known other
tuners that had them and had problems. I like the ability to adjust the
volume as needed for the particular situation.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>There are a lot of hidden benefits to wearing
especially two aids. One is when I go to the movies and the sound system is
so loud that everyone that attends needs new hearing aids when they
leave. I just turn my aids off and they act as ear plugs. They also
come in handy when your wife is upset with you.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>I would bet that over half of the piano
technicians have at least some hearing loss. I would urge all of you to get
your hearing checked every year and don't be afraid to give an aid a try.
Believe me, your friends and especially your customers won't care. If there
piano sounds great when you are ready to leave, they won't care if you wear
ear muffs.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>A couple of signs for you that are signals that
you have a loss: </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>If you have to raise the volume on the TV and
the wife complains about it.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>If you don't understand what your wife says
from the kitchen while you are watching TV</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>If you keep having to ask people to repeat what
they said.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>and last but not least---If the beats don't
jump out of your Acrosonic.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>With my aids, I hear things that many tuners
don't.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Recently I got called out on a two year old
Samick grand. The owner, a sweet old lady, had been complaining about the
piano to the past two ETD tuners as well as the piano store. They told here
that there was nothing wrong with the piano that what she was hearing was
because of her hearing aids. She also had two aids. The piano had been tuned
within two weeks of my arrival and twice over the month.. The tuning was
uneven but my tuning was going fine until I started into the bass. As I
passed into the bass break I noticed this terrible sound. The strings
sounded more like a guitar. When I checked the bearing on the bass bridge,
the first five notes you could stick paper between the bridge and the
strings. There was a minus .020 down bearing on the rear and +.005 on
about 1/8 inch of the front of the bridge. The piano was sent back to the
factory and the lady is thrilled with her new piano.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>For God Sake---go get your ears checked
people.Your ETDs don't hear this stuff. Half of you can't hear and
don't know it. Piano tuners are probably among the absolutely worst hearing
people in the world.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Ron May</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE
style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<DIV
style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: black"><B>From:</B>
<A title=joegarrett@earthlink.net
href="mailto:joegarrett@earthlink.net">Joseph Garrett</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A title=pianotech@ptg.org
href="mailto:pianotech@ptg.org">pianotech</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Monday, March 13, 2006 2:22
PM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Hearing Exam - was
OhOh</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<P>
<DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=+0>"You mentioned being "of a certain age" (it's a big
club) and I'm wondering how your hearing is at that end of the piano. If
you don't have an ETD but do have hearing loss at higher frequencies, you
may need to bite the bullet and buy one. For what it's worth, I like
Tunlab on my PocketPC because it is more affordable than others, has
everything I need, and has a built in spectrum analyzer that REALLY helps
you see what's going on in those top octaves."</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=3></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=3>Why is it so darned hard to go to the Audiologist and
get your ears checked?!!! We all need to do that, at least, every other
year. In our case, once a year is more logical. Sheesh! (And guys are
worse than the ladies. Must be a "guy thing" or is it just plain ego
getting in the way of logic?</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=3>Yeah, I'm back.<G> Been taking a sabbatical from
youse guys/gals. (I can take only so much, ya
know.<G>)</FONT></DIV></DIV>
<DIV>Regards,</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Joe Garrett, R.P.T. (Oregon)</DIV>
<DIV>Captain, Tool Police</DIV>
<DIV>Squares R I</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<P></P>
<P>
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