2 questions

[atonal@planet.eon.net]

> Date:          Mon, 10 Nov 1997 14:06:17 -0800
> To:            pianotech@ptg.org
> From:          Chris Olson <dreemer@crl.com>
> Subject:       2 questions
> Reply-to:      pianotech@ptg.org

> 
> Hi,
> 
> I have two different questions for you folks -
> 
> 1.  How does one figure storage fees for pianos left in your shop for a
> long time? 

Chris, 

	My wife the lawyer (but still a beautiful person) says that 
goods left unpaid over 90 days become yours if there has been 
reasonable attempts on your behalf to contact the owner. (which it 
seems there have been).  You might mention that you 
need a decision now or the piano will be claimed by you because  
the storage charges have eclipsed the value of the instrument. No 
time left to be compassionate, the guy is banking on your time and 
overhead.
 
> 2.  I have been tuning for a local concert promoter (Sebastopol Celtic
> Festival, and misc. folky events). He puts on the Kate Wolf Memorial Music
> festival in Sebastopol outdoors at a little family owned vinyard...He is
> thinking of having an artist who is a pianist, but I'm not sure about the
> tuning stability.  Last year at the festival, one day was foggy and cold
> (temps in the 60s) & the next day was sunny and in the upper 80's.  Also
> the stage is out in the open in a field with no indoor storage for the
> piano.  The festival is in june which is always unpredictable around here
> in Northern Calfornia about 10 miles in from the coast (Bodega Bay).  Is
> this a disaster?  I told him that there will be major stability problems.
> Would a dampp-chaser system (mostly just the dehumidifying part as the
> humidity rarely drops below 60% around here) help if maybe the bottom the
> the piano was covered and the lid closed?
> any suggestions?

This summer, I tuned for a four day outdoor music festival, four 
uprights and a main-stage grand. The weather ranged from dry & hot to 
evening showers and morning fog. Advice? Solidly tune the instrument 
(s) before they arrive on site, and perform morning and evening 
checks on the tuning stability. The verticals held fine, a couple of 
wandering unsions per instrument, but pitch was solid. The grand 
dropped a few cents over the first night, but daily tunings kept it 
performing and sounding great, IMHO. Dampp-Chasers? I find they work 
best in a long term situation, and fitting them before the pianos are 
sent out may have negative effects over the short term for tuning 
stability while the systems start adjusting to ambient moisture 
conditions. If the pianos already have Dampp-Chasers installed, then 
that is a different story.

Regards, 

Rob Kiddell, 
Registered Piano Technician, PTG
atonal@planet.eon.net