Brian, I am relatively uneducated when it comes to "alternate" tunings, but my hunch is that probably you were not getting good tunings. (Brian, do not take the following personally. They are just general observations.) It fascinates me how people will call me for a price quote, because they are making their decision solely on that. They assume all tunings are equal, and they certainly are not. I remember the time I was called to tune after a relative beginner had been there to tune the piano some months earlier. His charge was very low, about two thirds of what might normally be charged, but they were unhappy with the result. The piano had been tuned aurally, which can give very bad results in the hands of those who don't know how to set a decent temperament, or are inexperienced or careless. I found some notes up to 13 cents sharper or flatter than their next-door neighbors, and that difference could not be attributed to humidity changes or structural deficiencies. Was that tuning a good buy because it was cheaper? Certainly not. I retained that account until they moved out of the area. Occasionally when I answer the phone, the person on the line blurts out, "How much do you charge for a tuning?" If I am feeling tired or grumpy, I just answer the question, and they hang up. As you know, I am not looking for more work right now. But I really think these people ask this question because they have no idea what else to ask. I think it is best when I (we) take the time to give them a little more advice on how to find a technician whose work they will be happy with. They might still go with the cheapest tech, but at least they have an idea why that might not be a good idea. Regards, Clyde Brian Trudgeon wrote: > My piano sounds nicer than it ever > did after any tuning it had before. I can't make up my mind if it was badly > tuned previously or if possibly it was tuned to Reverse Well (as per Bill > Bremmer's explanation of how this happens)? . At least I have learnt that > all is not "equal" as one browses through the list of piano tuners in the > yellow pages. From here on out I will only call one technician.
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