Tech recommendation/south Memphis area

[John A. Tuttle]

HI All, 

In his posting on 23 Nov 1998 15:43:41 -0600, Lance Lafargue writes: 

"I have a customer just south of Memphis who needs a tech who's 
tunings last longer than 2 months.  There are 6-10 RPT's any 
suggestions?"

I know this may sound a bit sarcastic, but as an apprentice tuner, 
I was told by my 93 year old mentor, "A tuning hammer is not a 
magic wand."

There are so many variables working against any tuning that I can't 
imagine any piano staying in 'perfect' tune (which doesn't exist to 
begin with) for any more than a few days. Numerous studies have been 
done which prove this fact of life. I carry the results of one study 
done by Don Galt, former Technical Editor International "Piano 
Technicians Guild" in my briefcase. It clearly shows (in graph form) 
how very slight changes in humidity change the pitch of the piano. 

As unfortunate as it may be, a piano is a 'living' device that 
responds to every change it encounters regardless of whether it's 
played or not. It sounds to me like the woman in question needs 
a good education in reality. Either that or an organ. :-)

Musically, 

John A. Tuttle (john@player-care.com)
Brick, NJ

BTW, thanks for the responses concerning the separated pin block. 
I've collected 10 opinions thusfar and all say basically the same 
thing. In all fairness, I have also added in the only two opposing 
opinions, which (quite frankly) only serve to show the weakness 
of any claim that the problem occurred after the piano reached it's 
destination.
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