<HTML>In a message dated 1/9/02 1:22:14 PM Central Standard Time, joegarrett@earthlink.net writes: <BLOCKQUOTE TYPE=CITE style="BORDER-LEFT: #0000ff 2px solid; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px">Wim, You are such a woose! "Why chance it"?!! to get the piano at pitch and have the tuning be more effective and relevant to making MUSIC! I maintain, if the piano, (the whole piano), cannot be tuned to standard pitch or it's designed pitch, then it needs, either to be repaired or trashed. It's just that simple. Any tuner that, without total knowledge of the customers needs, (current and future), tunes a piano a 1/2 tone flat, usually because he doesn't want a string to break, is not a good tech IMO. This is usually because that tooner does not carry any string stock, etc. and besides, usually couldn't fix a hang nail w/o drawing major blood. Just MHO. Joe Garrett, RPT </BLOCKQUOTE> Thanks, Joe, for calling me a "woose." (whatever that is). I guess it's a compliment, since I know you wouldn't say anything derogatory about me :). The truth is, however, I don't do pitch raises on 100 year old piano, because of the possible problems it might occur, EXCEPT, if the customer is willing to pay for any damage to the piano if I do raise the pitch. If a customer asks me to raise pitch, then I will do it. And perhaps only one out of 10 or 15 pianos have any thing happen to. But for the most part, customers who have those older pianos usually don't have the money to spend on repairs. Sometimes they don't even have enough money to pay for a tuning. So the last think I want to do is create more problems than the customer wants, or is willing to pay for. Wim </HTML>