Terry's post begs the question (and please understand I ain't challingin' nobody on nuttin' ... I'm just seeking information and opinions and science, here) ... Do a piano really need time to "settle" after .. 1. Big pitch change? 2. Small pitch change? 3. Moving it across country? (other than environmental acclimation) 4 Moving it across the room? I have been under the impression--and it may be altogether wacky--that every change that is going to occur in the piano occurs immediatly upon cranking the pin. I thought someone (Dr. Sanderson, perhaps) tested this and proved it. So an adjunct question: Let's say we find a piano 15 cents flat. We pitch correct and fine tune and walk out the door with a follow-up appointment set for three months. When that day arrives, for those who have set such appointments, is the piano any flatter or more sour than it would have been if we found it A440 but still came back in three months? Same question, only now the piano was originally 35 cents flat. 60 cents? 120 cents? Certainly I've restrung pianos and found them pretty sick in a couple of months but have always attributed that to new wire stretch, not tension settling. Helmet on, raincoat on, rubber duckie in hand, I await your missives, if not missiles ... Alan Barnard Salem, Missouri > [Original Message] > From: pianolover 88 <pianolover88@hotmail.com> > To: <pianotech@ptg.org> > Date: 12/20/2005 6:24:24 PM > Subject: Re: How to explain a pitch adjustment..and! > > Depending on the amount of PR, ususally more than 12C, I always schedule a > "follow-up" tuning in 1-3 months, explaining that after restoring all that > loststring tension, the piano now must "settle" and adjust to that added > tension, and it some shifting of will occur. So the follow-up is crucial in > building long term stabilty. And that tuning will leave the piano much more > stable because tuning pin movement will be much smaller than during the > initial PR and tuning. Again, never a problem. Yes, it does help to have a > high confidence level and be able to effectively communicate and impart > information to your client in a clearand concice manner. I am a salesman as > well as a technician; that has made the difference between just getting by > to making a six figures. > > Terry Peterson
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