too picky about tuning

[Farrell]

Just got back. Piano was in surprisingly good tune - nothing more than two 
or three cents off. Only about a dozen notes with whining unisons. Not bad 
for seven months after a 25-cent pitch raise.

So she's playing up in the high treble on her finely crafted 1960 Janssen 
console and says "hear that - that note is bad". I won't share the full 
range of thoughts that occurred to me at that point. But yes, it did sound 
bad. Checked octaves and they were "good". Showed her on the Verituner that 
all was within a couple cents of target. She keeps hitting D#7 and says 
"that sounds bad". So we start talking about what "bad" sounds like. 
Ahhhhh - she says "it sounds like a toy piano". Duhhhhhhhhh! Couldn't argue 
with that!

You know that sound - a wooden hammer striking a log.

So that was it - the treble sounded like a toy piano. I explained to her 
that her piano was - er, um...... - sub-optimal and that it sounded 
consistent with others in its lofty class. I ended up not tuning a single 
string, she was happy, she will start looking for a replacement piano, and I 
largely wasted a morning - but did some good will anyway. Hey, it was a nice 
morning for a motorbike ride!

Terry Farrell

----- Original Message ----- 
> You're being way too generous.  After six months, somebody calling and
> telling me it went out right away???  They should have called then.  What
> can you possibly determine now?  After six months you will undoubtedly 
> find
> the piano out of tune.
>
> David Love
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: pianotech-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces at ptg.org] On 
> Behalf
> Of Farrell

> ...I'm off to an appointment this morning to look at my second complaint 
> in
> ten years about my tuning. The first one was about five years ago and the
> lady was a looney. I wonder how this one will shake out - it's been six
> months, but she said it "went out" right away after I tuned it. I know I
> shouldn't do anything for her at no charge, but I likely will - largely
> because of low number of complaints I've had.