<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN"> <html> <head> <META HTTP-EQUIV="Content-Type" CONTENT="text/html; charset=us-ascii"> <meta name=Generator content="Microsoft Word 10 (filtered)"> <title>Message</title> <style>  </style> </head> <body lang=EN-US link=blue vlink=purple> <div class=Section1> First question is how do you know that the tuning two months ago had problems?  Things change in two months, sometimes less.  Or, maybe the requirements of the owner left the previous tuner no choice but to leave the piano in a less than ideal situation as you yourself experienced.    Hearing loss often manifests itself in that area though generally the complaint is that it is not sharp enough.     If someone wants it stretched more or less I’m happy to accommodate them.  If they want to do a note for note custom tuning I’m not willing.  Life has enough aggravation and is already too short.  If you insist on keeping them as customers, charge double for a custom tuning without guarantees.  <div> David Love davidlovepianos@comcast.net www.davidlovepianos.com </div> -----Original Message----- From: pianotech-bounces@ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces@ptg.org] On Behalf Of Geoff Sykes Sent: Monday, July 23, 2007 10:13 PM To: Pianotech@Ptg. Org Subject: Defending your tuning   <div> Greetings all -- </div> <div>   </div> <div> This afternoon I did a repair tuning on a Yamaha C3. By repair I mean that the owner of the piano felt that the tuning from the previous tuner, two months ago, left a lot to be desired. Once I checked it out I had to agree. Anyway, I tune the piano up and make it all right again and the owner sits down and plays it a bit when I'm done and complains that the treble, especially the area around sixth octave, is sharp. OK, I pull out my trusty Reyburn Cybertuner and double check the tuning, and it's right on. Just to make sure, I put the ETD away and do aural checks all the way up from about F5. Everything checks out good, but the owner still insists that it's sharp. Since he's not complaining about every single treble note, but just a half dozen or so, I strip mute the treble and work with him on each note that he is unhappy with. Doing a number of checks, including some of his, I get to a point where I just can't make the note any flatter and still claim the piano is in tune. I'm bringing notes down so flat that they are full of fast beats and the octave is just ruined, and he's still complaining that they sound flat. By this time I've disagreed with him enough that he's starting to, (finally), question his own perception. I suggest we leave it where it is and when I come back for the next tuning I will make a point of reducing the amount of stretch in the treble to as close to nothing as I can make it. He says OK. </div> <div>   </div> <div> Rather than go through this again, as well as learn from the experience, I'm looking for ways to work with a customer who is obviously hearing incorrectly but who I, nevertheless, want to satisfy. Today's question: How do you defend a tuning that you know, and can prove, is correct when the customer says it is not? </div> <div>   </div> <div> -- Geoff Sykes </div> <div> -- Los Angeles </div> </div> </body> </html>