Tune it where it is

[Newton Hunt]

Quality, durability, reputation, ethics pride, accomplishment and
standard adherence are only a few issues involved in thread.

We all know that when the pitch of a piano is changed the piano will
return 25% to 30% of the amount changed, going up or going down it is
the same.  25% for those who tune unisons as they go and 30% for those
who tune unisons last.

If you are doing concert work and you need to change a nine footer
from 440 to 442, a change of 8 cents, the piano will have to be tuned
twice for a stable and correct tuning.

If I am tuning little Mary Jane's spinet I will tune it twice if I
have to make a 8 or 10 cent change.  The quality of the end result is
far more important to me than the time or effort required to make the
tuning stable and in tune.

It is safe to raise the pitch of a newish piano by 40 cents.  Much
more than that you risk over stressing the strings and shorten their
sustain time.  On older pianos (50 years or more) the limit should be
dropped to 30 cents.  Pianos that appear unsafe at any pitch should be
tuned where they are BUT pay particular attention to the feel of the
pins, string rendering, stability, stiction (string adherence to
contact points), sound, etc., to determine if the piano should be left
where it is or next time be raised to A=440.  Pianos that can be
should be tuned to pitch always.

It is our responsibility to fulfill the customers needs even when they
have no idea what those are or should be.  That IS our job.

		Newton