<HTML>In a message dated 9/10/01 6:27:05 AM Central Daylight Time, cedel@supernet.com writes: <BLOCKQUOTE TYPE=CITE style="BORDER-LEFT: #0000ff 2px solid; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px">Is a piano technician ethically bound to give each and every piano the very best tuning he can?  </BLOCKQUOTE> Yes, But, we have to take into account the quality of the piano. Kind of like the adage, "you can't make a silk purse from a sow's ear." No matter how hard you try, you can't make a spinet tune up like a concert grand. What we as tuners have to learn is how much better a tuning can be, without spending too much time on it. When I tune a unison, I go above and below the pitch, and come up with the least offensive sound. If that least offensive sound still has beats in it, then that is all the piano can give. Example. A theater in St. Louis bought a cheap used grand for the pit. I tuned it the best I could. The bass was horrible, because of old strings and worn out hammers. I got a call after the first performance from the pianist who complained the bass was out of tune. I went there just before the next performance, when he was there, and explained the situation. Together we tried tuning the bass. He finally realized what I came up with was the best the piano could give. The next year I was asked to replace the pin block and strings, and a year later I replaced the hammers. The piano is still not sounding great, but it is a lot better than it was. So do the best you can with what you have to work with and learn how to "compromise." Willem</HTML>