Voicing with tuning lever.

[Donald E. Mannino]

Paul,

Thanks for your thoughtful reply. It's clear you are a believer in using =
a variety of tuning systems, and that's great.

I compiled similar sales records for a large dealership (chain of 3 =
stores) in San Diego when I was a "real" piano tuner (before becoming =
corporate rabble!). I was trying to convince the store to pay a =
reasonably competent technician (ahem, me) to prep and tune their better =
quality grand pianos. So I started keeping a list of every grand piano =
they received and sold, and checked to see if the prepped ones were =
selling better than the un-prepped and untuned instruments.=20

The untuned and unprepped instruments sold just as well as the prepped =
ones, although the prepped ones seemed to sell to more knowledgeable =
buyers. The numbers were no different, though. Took all the wind out of =
my presentation to this dealer. This is why so many stores today don't =
bother to prep pianos - they don't see the benefits unless they keep it =
up for many years and establish a reputation for well prepped =
instruments.  Maybe if I had been using well-tempered tunings then we =
could have repeated your experiences. Who knows?

I also know of a tuner who foisted unusual (in contrast to Equal) =
temperaments on clients.  He thought his work was loved, but wondered =
why he wasn't called back in many cases. He was forever educating new =
clients on the superiority of his tuning system.  Perhaps he just wasn't =
a very good tuner, and it had nothing to do with his temperaments - I =
never heard his work first hand, only complaints about it from others.  =
This is one of the things that clouds my view of those who are (by my =
view, anyway) overly zealous about tuning to non-equal systems.

I feel musicians do hear the difference between good tuners. 2 different =
people, both excellent tuners, who tune a piano one after the other will =
leave that piano with a different sound. This is why musicians will =
express a preference for one tuner over another - we do each have =
different sounds in our tunings. My reason for stating this here is that =
I feel that these differences between tuners are at least as large as =
the differences between well and equal temperaments in the resulting =
sound of the instrument, and so this complicates the evaluation of the =
tuning systems.

De Gustibus Non Disputatem (or something like that - correct my latin, =
Horace!)

Don Mannino RTP