SAT III

[Ron Nossaman]

>     The biggest danger of the machine is that it makes it possible for 
>neophytes as well as posers to sell "tunings".  The usual lack of stability 
>in these situations is gradually creating suspiscion among the piano owners, 
>and lately there seems to be a spate of unhappy customers with aspersions to 
>cast,  like, "Oh, YOU use a machine, too?"   So, we have fresh young dragons 
>to slay, I had thought they would have been history by now.  
>Regards, 
>Ed Foote RPT


Hi Ed,
This particular dragon is already old and stale. It was installed many
years ago and has been relentlessly and continuously reinforced ever since.
Twenty+ years ago people were asking me "You don't use one of those d***
machines do you? " I still get the question now with about the same
frequency as I did then. A "poser" with a modern ETD has a whole lot better
tool today than was available back then, but when the tuning is lousy, they
figure it must have been because the guy used a machine. Maybe it's a
flashing light phobia of some sort, since their VCR has been flashing 12:00
for the last three years and is beginning to irritate them. In any case,
it's the tuner's use of the machine that is perceived to be the problem.
Here where the Bible Belt meets Tornado Alley (there has to be a connection
here somewhere, but I hesitate to speculate), an ETD is often looked upon
as a badge of incompetence. I'll grant you without reservation that there
have always been at least as many incompetents with forks flailing away at
defenseless pianos, but I don't recall anyone ever calling for a "machine
tuner" because the last guy did a terrible job and used a fork. They often
don't remember the name of the tuner, but they will invariably remember the
machine.  Just like public perception being that pianos are immortal,
tuners are expected to be bizarrely dressed, eccentric old guys who pet
dogs and use tuning forks (on the piano, not the dog). If you can convince
them otherwise, no problem, but I've found it very difficult to get people
to even consider anything that's different from what they were "taught".

I'm rambling. Sorry to butt in. The current ETDs are terrific. Good luck.

Ron N