Wim, Most of the pianos that I tune up here in the wilds of Northern Manitoba are old neglected uprights that only get tuned every few years. They are usually at least 25 cents flat and are more often than not between 50 and 100 cents flat. I bring them all up to pitch and rarely break a string. I tuned one last fall that was 200 cents flat with a fair amount of rust around the pins. No strings broke. I always explain to my customers that there is the possibility of string breakage due to the age of the instrument and the presence of rust so they are prepared when a string breaks. They are all smiles when I have completed the job without incident, and frequently comment on how the piano hasn't sounded that good for many years. Cheers Terry Beckingham At 12:31 PM 1/9/00 EST, you wrote: >I never bring an older upright up to pitch, especianly if it has rusty >strings. > >I also don't give a three minute explanation to the customer. I just tell >them the piano is too old, and this is the only thing that can be done. If >you sound confident, and tell the customer what you are doing, without going >into detail, most customers will accept what you tell them, without question. >If you try to explain too much,they might wonder what you are trying to hide. > >Just my thoughts > >Wim >
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