Dave:
As far as I'm concerned you are very right. Lowering the pitch on a 9'
Steinway D causes some real instability on the instrument I tune. And raising
the pitch causes real instability problems on this piano. I tune and retune
and retune many , many notes when this piano is below and especially above
pitch which is quite often. It is in a large church. Unheated and uncooled
during the week . The instrument is covered with a canvas/cotten cover. On
more than one occasion , I removed the cover and immediately the soundboard
became unstable and caused pitch changes.
The cover must be removed at least four to six hours prior to tuning. We need
a damp chaser system on this instrument. Just for the record, when tuning
this piano I feel like Jerry Clower's Marcell Ledbetter the night he climbed
that tree to knock out the treed raccoon. He hollared down after a brief
encounter with the coon....shoot up in amongst us...one of us has got to have
some relief. I feel that way every time I tune that big monster but I alway
win ;it's always one hell of a fight.
Tommy Black
Decatur, Ala.
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