<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN"> <html> <head> <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset=ISO-8859-1"> <title></title> </head> <body text="#000000" bgcolor="#ffffff"> Avery, I didn't understand that we were talking about importance.  I think Terry was just pointing out that it is normally A *above* middle C that vibrates at 440 vps, which is quite clearly what Julia meant, even if it's not what she wrote.  I reckon we've all done that at one time or another. Regards, Clyde H. Avery Todd wrote: <blockquote type="cite" cite="mid6.0.1.1.2.20040708174816.031a12e0@mail.ev1.net">Terry, Just out of curiosity, why would the A above middle C be any more important than the A below? Unless you're comparing it to a tuning fork, of course. :-) Avery At 04:02 PM 7/8/04, you wrote: <blockquote type="cite" class="cite" cite="">< Julia Gottchall,  Reading, PA>> I HOPE you actually meant "A ABOVE middle C", NOT below! Terry Peterson ----Original Message Follows---- From: Clyde Hollinger &lt;cedel@supernet.com&gt; Reply-To: Pianotech &lt;pianotech@ptg.org&gt; To: Pianotech &lt;pianotech@ptg.org&gt; Subject: Re: If pianos are &quot;swollen&quot; now... then what? Date: Thu, 08 Jul 2004 13:18:20 -0400 Bob, It was good to see you in Nashville.  Of course I agree with you wholeheartedly, whle at the same time I admit that I am not a very outspoken salesman of PLS systems.  I do let first-time clients that if the piano sounds bad between tunings, then humidity change is the culprit, and we can deal with that.  If established clients remark about tuning instability, I also let them know their options.  I think I averaged about one system a month during the spring and early summer this year, which is probably higher than average for me. Regards, Clyde H. Robert J Russell wrote: &gt;Hello All, Excellent advice Clyde. You really offer great advice on &gt;how to deal with our wonderful humidity changes. The only thing I &gt;would add, is that six month tunings over these high swing periods &gt;offer a great opportunity to recommend a solution for their &gt;problems. Piano Life Saver Systems. If your tuning in the fall and &gt;spring to avoid these swings, the pianos are going to sound terrible &gt;in June through October and January through April. The biggest &gt;question that we need to ask our customers is how many months  of &gt;the year do they want their pianos to sound good? &gt;Great seeing everyone in Nashville, &gt;Bob Russell, RPT &gt; &gt;Clyde Hollinger &lt;cedel@supernet.com&gt; wrote: &gt; &gt;     Julia, &gt; &gt;     I do what is called by some &quot;floating the pitch,&quot; although I &gt;would &gt;     not do this for a concert where the piano really needs to be at &gt;A-440. &gt; &gt;     My experience is that in this area humidity generally peaks in &gt;     August and September and hits the lowest usually in February &gt;and &gt;     March.  So we are on the rise at this point of July.  When I &gt;sit &gt;     down to tune a piano, I use my RCT to test where the pitches of &gt;     the As are, from A1 to A6, and sometimes the lowest unwound &gt;     strings also.  (If you tune aurally you'll need to use your own &gt;     system.) &gt; &gt;     What I do next depends on the season and the situation.  If &gt;I've &gt;     been tuning the piano in July at A-440 for years, but suddenly &gt;     this year the whole piano is sharp, this is a humidity &gt;     aberration.  If I tune it at A-440 again, it is almost a &gt;certainty &gt;     that next year it will be flat.  So I leave it sharp! . &gt;Obviously &gt;     I keep good records so I can look back and see what has &gt;happened &gt;     in the past 10-15 years. &gt; &gt;     I do not like 6-month tunings that swing between high and low &gt;     humidity seasons.  I have a couple customers like that, and &gt;     sometimes I never tune the piano to A-440, leaving it several &gt;     cents high in the summer and about the same amount low in the &gt;     winter.  That way I'm putting less wear on the pinblock, and I &gt;     know that somewhere between tunings the piano is on target. &gt; &gt;     Regards, &gt;     Clyde Hollinger, RPT &gt; &gt;     <a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:Alpha88x@aol.com">Alpha88x@aol.com</a> wrote: &gt; &gt;&gt;     Greetings, &gt;&gt; &gt;&gt;                   If the pianos are &quot;swollen&quot; just now &gt;&gt;(summertime), &gt;&gt;     due to the humid mountanous atmosphere of this part of &gt;&gt;     Pennsylvania, is it OK to tune above A440? &gt;&gt; &gt;&gt;                    I have been tuning for alittle over a year now. &gt;&gt;I &gt;&gt;     have found that pianos which the customer tells me havent been &gt;&gt;     tuned for 5 or more years, are very close to A440, yet they &gt;&gt;are &gt;&gt;     terribly out of tune as far as unisons and horribly flat upper &gt;&gt;     octaves. &gt;&gt; &gt;&gt;                     In other words, I will get a call to have a &gt;&gt;piano &gt;&gt;     tuned and am told its been 5 plus yaears since last tuning, &gt;&gt;yet &gt;&gt;     the A below middle C is right on or ne! ar 440. Other pianos I &gt;&gt;go &gt;&gt;     to, the customer will say it's been 2 years and these are &gt;&gt;     actually a few beats above A440. &gt;&gt; &gt;&gt;                     I never turn them back to A440, I figure they &gt;&gt;are &gt;&gt;     swelled right now, and if I turn them down to 440 now, then, &gt;&gt;when &gt;&gt;     the summer is over they will go below 440 when the heat goes &gt;&gt;on. &gt;&gt;     Last summer, I had my first few tunings and I turned pianos &gt;&gt;back &gt;&gt;     down to 440 and I was wondering if my fork was off...This year &gt;&gt;I &gt;&gt;     figured it out. I think I am correct, but I want to be sure on &gt;&gt;this. &gt;&gt; &gt;&gt;                     This year, (with my whole whopping 16 months &gt;&gt;     expertise)  If I go into a situation and its a few beats above &gt;&gt;     440 I tune it right there. In fact,  if the customer doesnt &gt;&gt;have &gt;&gt;     a dehumidifer or ar conditioning, I even pull the piano up a &gt;&gt;bit &gt;&gt;     to be alittle above A440. Pianos &quot;should&quot; be s! harp just now, &gt;&gt;     right? How am I on this? Am I figuring OK on this? &gt;&gt; &gt;&gt;     Thanks &gt;&gt;     Julia Gottchall, &gt;&gt;     Reading, PA &gt; <> _________________________________________________________________ Check out the latest news, polls and tools in the MSN 2004 Election Guide! <a href="http://special.msn.com/msn/election2004.armx" eudora="autourl">http://special.msn.com/msn/election2004.armx</a> _______________________________________________ pianotech list info: <a href="https://www.moypiano.com/resources/#archives" eudora="autourl">https://www.moypiano.com/resources/#archives</a> </blockquote> </blockquote> </body> </html>