<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN"> <HTML><HEAD> <META http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=utf-8"> <META content="MSHTML 6.00.2900.3243" name=GENERATOR> <STYLE></STYLE> </HEAD> <BODY bgColor=#ffffff> <DIV><FONT face=Arial>Q: <FONT size=2>"How long have you owned it and when was the last time it was tuned?"</FONT></FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>A: I'm not sure when it was tuned last, it was left by the previous owners when we moved in five years ago....."</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>anon</FONT></DIV> <BLOCKQUOTE dir=ltr 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><FONT face=Arial size=2>I try to stay away from the old giants as well, however, when I try to determine what the situation is with the person on the phone it usually the case that the person can't faithfully describe what condition the piano is in or even the maker of the instrument. More often than not when I see the piano it is either a tunable piano of medium quality or something exceptional (in the world of never ending uprights) that is unique in case, construction and vintage that will yield good results especially if it has been cared for during it's life on earth. I guess my main question I ask to determine if it's worth the trip to their door is "how long have you owned it and when was the last time it was tuned". The other side to that is the time wasted when you enter to find the 3 castered door beater just waiting for string breakage hour. An unfortunate waste of time and gas but I will have no problem being the bearer of bad news and get out with a little extra time for errands and a piano owner with a easier decision to make. </FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>David C. </FONT></DIV></BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>