need some opinions

[David Lawson]

need some opinionsWe certainly are in an interesting business. After 51 years a tuner, I never cease to be enthralled at the fact that we all have our own way of tuning, and indeed, our own degree of satisfaction with our tuning ability.
This talk about different tuners and their opinion of what is a good tuning and a not so good one, brings us to realise that this certainly is an 'imperfect' industry we are in. How many times have you gone to a piano that has just been attended to by another tuner, tested the scale, and then gone through the entire compass of the keyboard, and found 'fault'? We all do it. However, because we work on an 'imperfect instrument' then we too are in that category are we not?
I have often been in awe of other tuner's work, and even though I would consider it excellent, I would have changed this or that. How dare I do that. Perhaps this akin to taking a paint brush and altering a painting by an artist.
My feelings are these: If, when I leave a piano after a tuning, and I still get goose bumps from the result, I am a happy man. We are so lucky to have chosen the work we do, even if sometimes the piano we are working on is less than responsive, we can still make something beautiful out of something ugly.
Cheers, David Lawson OZ.
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Jon Page 
  To: pianotech at ptg.org 
  Sent: Saturday, July 05, 2008 1:18 AM
  Subject: need some opinions


    ... informed the pianist that I could not share such tunings with another
    tuner because it would ultimately affect the piano...


  I tell customers that it is better to have one tuner. Different tuners tune differently
  in regards to pin setting and stretch. I find that it takes two tunings to get the piano
  'back' to my style.


  I used to get a call from one lady every few years. I seemed that she liked to
  'spread the wealth' and give every tuner in the area a turn. The piano was always
  dreadful but after a few of my sessions she realized that my tunings lasted longer
  and had me tune consecutively for a few years, then she moved.


  I had the situation again recently and told the owner to pick a tuner, if she insisted
  on multiple tuners, count me out. Not just for tuning stability but for service
  and maintenance.

  Regards,

  Jon Page
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