pitch raise time

[Ron Nossaman]

>I am
>sure that an aural pitch raise by a competent tuner is just the same as an
>ETD pitch raise by a competent tuner. Both ways should ensure end results
>that allow the piano to be tuned in a normal time frame after the pitch
>raise. One way is just as good as the other; it's just a matter of
>individual preference.

That was my point, and my answer to why anyone would show up with a fork
when they could use an ETD. I own a fork, and so far, it's been sufficient.
It's not that I don't own toys, they just happen to be shop toys instead of
tuning toys. Now before I have to spend the next three days explaining
fifty times that I don't consider ETDs to be useless toys, let's say I put
them in the same category as any power tool: Theoretically unnecessary, but
very welcome if you can justify the need. At this point, I can't justify
the need.


>I envy you living in a climate that doesn't have the kind of humidity
>changes we have so that you don't have that many pitch raises. On the other
>hand I love the seasonal changes and all the rest of the stuff that cause
>our humidity swings so I'm not complaining (well, not too much except when
>every piano in one day of tuning needs a pitch raise <g>).
>
>Gina

Gina,
Oh no, it isn't that the humidity swings aren't happening, it's just that
most people here seem to just barely acknowledge the need to tune at all,
much less on a regular basis. The average school or church tuning (among
the few who have pianos tuned twice a year) is done at the height of the
high humidity cycle (maybe 60-70%), or the depth of the low cycle (20-35%).
The pianos are 15-25 cents high or low EVERY time they're tuned. Since they
aren't interested in paying for pitch raises or lowerings twice a year, and
I'm not interested in doing them for free, It's normally one pass - best
shot. It's not generally feasible to float the pitch too much either,
because some helpful soul always seems to have a guitar tuner handy to
check out how the piano tuner did, so they have to be close enough for
Country & Western (no offense Ed, entirely different venue). As a
consequence, I've learned to produce a passably decent tuning, not what I
would consider a first rate one, from a quarter semitone away in one pass.
If I couldn't do it well enough to please them, they wouldn't use me, and
all the school and church contracts I have serviced for five years or more
have come about because the last (insert number) tuner/techs didn't make
them happy. Believe me, I wish it were otherwise, but a pitch raise is
usually only for newer pianos that have been neglected too long, or older
pianos that have, well, been neglected way too long. Given a choice, I'd do
the pitch raise/lowering and a second pass for an overall better tuning,
but someone would have to pay for it, and someone would have to NOT turn
off the air conditioner or heat and waste the effort within a week. If I do
half of my tuning for free, I'll NEVER make as much as a plumber!

Ron N