<<I will get a call to have a piano tuned and am told its been 5 plus yaears since last tuning, yet the A below middle C is right on or ne! ar 440. Julia Gottchall, Reading, PA>> I HOPE you actually meant "A ABOVE middle C", NOT below! Terry Peterson ----Original Message Follows---- From: Clyde Hollinger <cedel@supernet.com> Reply-To: Pianotech <pianotech@ptg.org> To: Pianotech <pianotech@ptg.org> Subject: Re: If pianos are "swollen" now... then what? Date: Thu, 08 Jul 2004 13:18:20 -0400 Bob, It was good to see you in Nashville. Of course I agree with you wholeheartedly, whle at the same time I admit that I am not a very outspoken salesman of PLS systems. I do let first-time clients that if the piano sounds bad between tunings, then humidity change is the culprit, and we can deal with that. If established clients remark about tuning instability, I also let them know their options. I think I averaged about one system a month during the spring and early summer this year, which is probably higher than average for me. Regards, Clyde H. Robert J Russell wrote: >Hello All, Excellent advice Clyde. You really offer great advice on >how to deal with our wonderful humidity changes. The only thing I >would add, is that six month tunings over these high swing periods >offer a great opportunity to recommend a solution for their >problems. Piano Life Saver Systems. If your tuning in the fall and >spring to avoid these swings, the pianos are going to sound terrible >in June through October and January through April. The biggest >question that we need to ask our customers is how many months of >the year do they want their pianos to sound good? >Great seeing everyone in Nashville, >Bob Russell, RPT > >Clyde Hollinger <cedel@supernet.com> wrote: > > Julia, > > I do what is called by some "floating the pitch," although I >would > not do this for a concert where the piano really needs to be at >A-440. > > My experience is that in this area humidity generally peaks in > August and September and hits the lowest usually in February >and > March. So we are on the rise at this point of July. When I >sit > down to tune a piano, I use my RCT to test where the pitches of > the As are, from A1 to A6, and sometimes the lowest unwound > strings also. (If you tune aurally you'll need to use your own > system.) > > What I do next depends on the season and the situation. If >I've > been tuning the piano in July at A-440 for years, but suddenly > this year the whole piano is sharp, this is a humidity > aberration. If I tune it at A-440 again, it is almost a >certainty > that next year it will be flat. So I leave it sharp! . >Obviously > I keep good records so I can look back and see what has >happened > in the past 10-15 years. > > I do not like 6-month tunings that swing between high and low > humidity seasons. I have a couple customers like that, and > sometimes I never tune the piano to A-440, leaving it several > cents high in the summer and about the same amount low in the > winter. That way I'm putting less wear on the pinblock, and I > know that somewhere between tunings the piano is on target. > > Regards, > Clyde Hollinger, RPT > > Alpha88x@aol.com wrote: > >> Greetings, >> >> If the pianos are "swollen" just now >>(summertime), >> due to the humid mountanous atmosphere of this part of >> Pennsylvania, is it OK to tune above A440? >> >> I have been tuning for alittle over a year now. >>I >> have found that pianos which the customer tells me havent been >> tuned for 5 or more years, are very close to A440, yet they >>are >> terribly out of tune as far as unisons and horribly flat upper >> octaves. >> >> In other words, I will get a call to have a >>piano >> tuned and am told its been 5 plus yaears since last tuning, >>yet >> the A below middle C is right on or ne! ar 440. Other pianos I >>go >> to, the customer will say it's been 2 years and these are >> actually a few beats above A440. >> >> I never turn them back to A440, I figure they >>are >> swelled right now, and if I turn them down to 440 now, then, >>when >> the summer is over they will go below 440 when the heat goes >>on. >> Last summer, I had my first few tunings and I turned pianos >>back >> down to 440 and I was wondering if my fork was off...This year >>I >> figured it out. I think I am correct, but I want to be sure on >>this. >> >> This year, (with my whole whopping 16 months >> expertise) If I go into a situation and its a few beats above >> 440 I tune it right there. In fact, if the customer doesnt >>have >> a dehumidifer or ar conditioning, I even pull the piano up a >>bit >> to be alittle above A440. Pianos "should" be s! harp just now, >> right? How am I on this? Am I figuring OK on this? >> >> Thanks >> Julia Gottchall, >> Reading, PA > <> _________________________________________________________________ Check out the latest news, polls and tools in the MSN 2004 Election Guide! http://special.msn.com/msn/election2004.armx
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