<html xmlns:v="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:vml" xmlns:o="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" xmlns:w="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:word" xmlns:st1="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40"> <head> <META HTTP-EQUIV="Content-Type" CONTENT="text/html; charset=us-ascii"> <meta name=Generator content="Microsoft Word 11 (filtered medium)"> <o:SmartTagType namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="PostalCode"/> <o:SmartTagType namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="State"/> <o:SmartTagType namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="place"/> <o:SmartTagType namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="City"/> <o:SmartTagType namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="PersonName"/>  <style>  </style>  </head> <body bgcolor=white lang=EN-US link=blue vlink=blue> <div class=Section1> <p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size: 10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>I’d probably do the same, Terry, but be sure to educate the customer at the end. Tell them if there is a problem with the tuning they need to call you right away, not wait six months. Perhaps add some of what I say below. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p> <p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size: 10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p> <p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size: 10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>David, what I do is compliment the customer on their very discerning ear and tell them they are blessed with a curse. I tell them that most of my customers frankly can’t really tell when a piano is out of tune. Pianos start going out of tune as soon as I am done tuning them. Concert pianos are tuned before every performance and touched up at intermission. Some of my customers who are really picky have their pianos tuned every 3-4 months, a very few as often as once a month. It’s not unusual for unisons to go out slightly after a month or two, especially on pianos that are regularly played, especially if they have no climate control system. If that out of tuneness bothers them enough then really the only thing to do is get the humidity stabilized and then put the piano on a more aggressive tuning schedule. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p> <p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size: 10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p> <div> <p class=MsoAutoSig><b><font size=6 color=navy face="Bradley Hand ITC"><span style='font-size:22.0pt;font-family:"Bradley Hand ITC";color:navy;font-weight: bold'>Dean</span></font></b><font color=navy><span style='color:navy'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p> <p class=MsoAutoSig style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><u1:PERSONNAME u2:st="on"><font size=3 color=navy face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt; color:navy'>Dean May</u1:PERSONNAME>             cell 812.239.3359 <o:p></o:p></span></font></p> <p class=MsoAutoSig style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><font size=3 color=navy face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:navy'>PianoRebuilders.com   812.235.5272 <o:p></o:p></span></font></p> <p class=MsoAutoSig style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><u1:PLACE u2:st="on"><u1:CITY u2:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on"><font size=3 color=navy face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:navy'><u3:place u4:st="on"><u3:City u4:st="on">Terre Haute</span></font></st1:City><font color=navy><span style='color:navy'></u3:place></u1:CITY></u3:City> <u1:STATE u2:st="on"><st1:State u5:st="on"><st1:State w:st="on">IN</st1:State></u1:STATE></st1:State>  <u1:POSTALCODE u2:st="on"><st1:PostalCode u6:st="on"><st1:PostalCode w:st="on">47802</st1:PostalCode></u1:POSTALCODE></st1:PostalCode></span></font></st1:place></u1:PLACE><font color=navy><span style='color:navy'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p> </div> <p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size: 10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p> <div> <div class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center'><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'> <hr size=2 width="100%" align=center tabindex=-1> </span></font></div> <p class=MsoNormal><b><font size=2 face=Tahoma><span style='font-size:10.0pt; font-family:Tahoma;font-weight:bold'>From:</span></font></b><font size=2 face=Tahoma><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Tahoma'> pianotech-bounces@ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces@ptg.org] <b><span style='font-weight:bold'>On Behalf Of </span></b>Farrell<br> <b><span style='font-weight:bold'>Sent:</span></b> Monday, June 02, 2008 8:00 AM<br> <b><span style='font-weight:bold'>To:</span></b> <st1:PersonName w:st="on">Pianotech List</st1:PersonName><br> <b><span style='font-weight:bold'>Subject:</span></b> Re: too picky about tuning</span></font><o:p></o:p></p> </div> <p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size: 12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p> <div> <p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt; font-family:Arial'>Interesting and timely post David. I'm off to an appointment this morning to look at my second complaint in ten years about my tuning. The first one was about five years ago and the lady was a looney. I wonder how this one will shake out - it's been six months, but she said it "went out" right away after I tuned it. I know I shouldn't do anything for her at no charge, but I likely will - largely because of low number of complaints I've had. </span></font><o:p></o:p></p> </div> <div> <p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size: 12.0pt'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p> </div> <div> <p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt; font-family:Arial'>I just went biking with a guy the other day who is a colal-rectal surgeon. He told me about all the lawsuits and whatnot that his fellow doctors endure. I guess maybe I feel lucky and like I ought to just eat this one if I only get one every five years......</span></font><o:p></o:p></p> </div> <div> <p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size: 12.0pt'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p> </div> <div> <p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt; font-family:Arial'>Dunno.</span></font><o:p></o:p></p> </div> <div> <p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size: 12.0pt'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p> </div> <div> <p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt; font-family:Arial'>Terry Farrell</span></font><o:p></o:p></p> </div> <blockquote style='border:none;border-left:solid black 1.5pt;padding:0in 0in 0in 4.0pt; margin-left:3.75pt;margin-top:5.0pt;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:5.0pt'> <div> <p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt; font-family:Arial'>----- Original Message ----- <o:p></o:p></span></font></p> </div> <div style='font-color:black'> <p class=MsoNormal style='background:#E4E4E4'><b><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;font-weight:bold'>From:</span></font></b><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'> <a href="mailto:dnereson@4dv.net" title="dnereson@4dv.net">David Nereson</a> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p> </div> <div> <p class=MsoNormal><b><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt; font-family:Arial;font-weight:bold'>To:</span></font></b><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'> <a href="mailto:pianotech@ptg.org" title="pianotech@ptg.org">Pianotech List</a> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p> </div> <div> <p class=MsoNormal><b><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt; font-family:Arial;font-weight:bold'>Sent:</span></font></b><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'> Monday, June 02, 2008 5:34 AM<o:p></o:p></span></font></p> </div> <div> <p class=MsoNormal><b><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt; font-family:Arial;font-weight:bold'>Subject:</span></font></b><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'> too picky about tuning<o:p></o:p></span></font></p> </div> <div> <p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size: 12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p> </div> <div> <p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Arial Narrow"><span style='font-size: 12.0pt;font-family:"Arial Narrow"'>    Some customers are too picky about tuning, in my opinion.  As soon as one unison develops the least little "slow roll," they'll call up and say, "My piano has gone horribly out of tune."  I get there, and, yes, it needs a little touch-up, but it's by no stretch of the imagination "horribly out of tune."        </span></font><o:p></o:p></p> </div> <div> <p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Arial Narrow"><span style='font-size: 12.0pt;font-family:"Arial Narrow"'>    There was a pamphlet published by PTG years ago, the aim of which was to get people to tune their pianos at least twice a year, if not four.  It started out with a quote something along the lines of  "There is no such thing as a piano standing in perfect tune for weeks or months on end.  In fact, within 24 hours of being tuned, some strings will have slipped a bit out of tune."  It then went on to recommend tuning more frequently than most people have it done.</span></font><o:p></o:p></p> </div> <div> <p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Arial Narrow"><span style='font-size: 12.0pt;font-family:"Arial Narrow"'>    There was another pamphlet, or maybe it was the same one, with quotes and recommendations by official representatives or even presidents of many piano manufacturers.  Almost all of them, including Steinway, agreed that, in order to keep a piano in good tune most of the time, it would have to be tuned 3 or 4 times a year.  Not one manufacturer recommended less frequently than twice a year, if I remember correctly.   </span></font><o:p></o:p></p> </div> <div> <p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Arial Narrow"><span style='font-size: 12.0pt;font-family:"Arial Narrow"'>    I wish this pamphlet could be issued again by the Home Office as a handout to customers.  If piano owners could see that the manufacturers don't expect a tuning to last longer than a few months, then certainly customers can't hold their tuners in a bad light if their tunings don't stay perfectly dead on for a whole year (which some customers seem to expect).  </span></font><o:p></o:p></p> </div> <div> <p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Arial Narrow"><span style='font-size: 12.0pt;font-family:"Arial Narrow"'>    Of course, the owner's manuals that come with new pianos almost all recommend at least twice-yearly tuning, nobody reads them.  And tuning twice a year means spending $200 or so on your piano yearly, never mind tuning 3 or 4 times a year.  Most people just will not spend that much on their piano, even it it's a high-quality grand.  </span></font><o:p></o:p></p> </div> <div> <p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Arial Narrow"><span style='font-size: 12.0pt;font-family:"Arial Narrow"'>    My gripe is that too many clients expect tunings to last a whole year.  Now, some pianos admittedly stay in pretty good tune and up to pitch for even 5 or 10 years, but those are the rare exceptions.  If piano owners expect to have their pianos tuned only once a year, then they should learn to live with a little out-of-tuneness.  I do.  My piano can get quite bad before I say, "OK, I really gotta tune this thing."  </span></font><o:p></o:p></p> </div> <div> <p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Arial Narrow"><span style='font-size: 12.0pt;font-family:"Arial Narrow"'>    Sometimes they'll request a tuning at the tail end of winter, right before the spring rains come.  I try to tell them it'll need tuning again shortly because of higher humidity on the way.  Same thing at the end of August, or even into September or October.  After the heat comes on, it's gonna dry out and go flat.  Then they think you can't tune to make it last, and wonder why they should pay for another tuning.  I've explained the humidity change effect each and every year to some school music teachers and it goes in one ear and out the other.  They still want the pianos tuned at the end of August for the new school year, and expect not to have to tune them again until the Christmas program or even not until the spring high school musical production! </span></font><o:p></o:p></p> </div> <div> <p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Arial Narrow"><span style='font-size: 12.0pt;font-family:"Arial Narrow"'>    Yes, you can leave brochures, technical bulletins, etc., but they don't read them.  Or they read and forget.   It gets exasperating.</span></font><o:p></o:p></p> </div> <div> <p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Arial Narrow"><span style='font-size: 12.0pt;font-family:"Arial Narrow"'>    --David Nereson, RPT</span></font> <o:p></o:p></p> </div> <div> <p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Arial Narrow"><span style='font-size: 12.0pt;font-family:"Arial Narrow"'>    </span></font> <o:p></o:p></p> </div> <div> <p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Arial Narrow"><span style='font-size: 12.0pt;font-family:"Arial Narrow"'>        </span></font> <o:p></o:p></p> </div> </blockquote> </div> </body> </html>