Pitch raising

[Wimblees@AOL.COM]

In a message dated 12/15/00 2:51:31 PM Central Standard Time, 
pianotoo@imap2.asu.edu writes:

<< Hi to all:
 
 Even though I have said this before on this list, it bears repeating.
 
 If you needed to cut off your dog's tail, would you do it 1 inch at a 
 time or would you spare the healing pains and do it in one swell foop?
 
 I liked Kevin's approach. Just do it! "Quick and dirty" is better than 
 slow and clean. After all, you are just balancing tension, not tuning on 
 the first go-around.
 
 Jim Coleman, Sr. >>


To go one step further in this, for those who think doing it slowly will keep 
a string from breaking, I have this observation. A string is going to break 
at a certain tension, whether the string reaches that tension in small 
increment of 15 or 20 cents at a time, or all 100 cents in one swell foop, as 
Jim suggests. It's kind like the weakest link in a chain theory. 

On another part of this pitch raise thingee. There are some tuners who charge 
extra depending on low the piano is. ($10 extra for a piano that is 10 cents 
low, $20 for a piano that is 20 cents low, etc.)  I think that is cheating 
the customer. If the pitch is raised in one swell foop, there should be no 
need to charge extra. It doesn't take any more energy, nor time, to pull a 
string up 10 cents as it does to pull up a string 100 cents. In fact, it is 
probably harder to do 10 cents that to do 100 cents, since you have to have 
more control for 10 cents than for 100 cents. I charge a set fee for a pitch 
raise and a tuning, whether that pitch raise is 25 cents or 250 cents. 

Willem