tuning with Dampp-Chaser-pitch

[Tom Servinsky]

Ditto Phil,
When I used to do deal prep work I was doing the same thing with extremely
predictable results. After experiencing the pitch drop behaviors of
different brands I would set the  pianos at A442 and within 3 weeks with a
dampp chaser the pianos were at pitch ready to be fine tuned.
However some of the lower end pianos, ones with lower wood qualities, would
drop as much as 16c in a 2 week period.
Tom Servinsky,RPT
----- Original Message -----
From: "Phil Bondi" <pbondi2@comcast.net>
To: <pianotech@ptg.org>
Sent: Saturday, March 23, 2002 5:16 PM
Subject: Re: tuning with Dampp-Chaser-pitch


> Terry, I also do alot of 'warranty' tunings for a local dealer..I also do
> the floor tunings.
>
> On the floor, I will sometimes raise the pitch to 442. I have a very
> un-sceintific method for determining what piano gets raised: If the piano
> comes into the dealership pretty close to pitch(within 8 cents), then I
set
> pitch at 440. I have also seen pianos come in pretty sharp(442+)..for
those,
> I bring them down to 440. For those pianos that come in pretty flat, they
> get set at 442.
>
> It's my theory that the closer they come in to 440, the more attention was
> paid to them at the manufacturer, hence the thought that 440 will be fine
> once it's moved into the customer's home. The ones that come in pretty
flat,
> in my experience, are the ones that will go flatter faster, and will also
> need more attention on the floor before they are sold.
>
> ..like I said, it's unscientific, but I've been doing it this way for this
> dealer for 3 years. This all came about after a disagreement we had about
> pitch-raising in the customer's home. I think a pitch riase should never
> happen with a new piano sold by a 'reputable' dealer (that's where I got
> him!). So, he agreed to my experiment and he hasn't paid for a pitch raise
> in the customer's home since.
>
> Terry, I'd be careful if I were you about charging for a 'ptch-correction'
> so soon after a sale. A talk with the dealership might be in order before
> you go charging the new piano owner. Are you retaining these customers as
> your own or do they still belong to the dealership? Either way, you're
> stepping on touchy turf with the thought of charging for
'pitch-correction'
> so soon after a sale.
>
> Phil
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