[pianotech] Pitch raise criteria

[David Love]

It's a pitch raise when you must do a full 1st pass before attempting a fine
tuning.  I build it into my fee on all first time appointments or
appointments (such as this one) where it's been too long.  Some pianos
accommodate pitch changes better than others but generally over 3-4 cents is
a definite double though you can get away with it up to about 6 or 8 cents
on some pianos in a pinch (like pennies).  

David Love
www.davidlovepianos.com

-----Original Message-----
From: pianotech-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces at ptg.org] On Behalf
Of Rob McCall
Sent: Saturday, August 01, 2009 4:28 PM
To: pianotech at ptg.org
Subject: [pianotech] Pitch raise criteria

Greetings list,

I just tuned a Samick JS-118 upright yesterday that hadn't been tuned  
in 7 years (It had 1 tuning right after they bought it brand new and  
that was it!).  It was flat by about 73 cents below the break, and  
about 45 cents flat above the break.  Pretty consistent throughout.   
All in all, it turned out very well after a pitch raise and then a  
fine tune.

My question to all of you...  What do you use as your criteria for  
charging extra for pitch raises?  When is it a "pitch raise" to you?  
This particular piano was pretty clear cut, but do you have a point of  
no return?  20-25 cents? Less or more?

I use a SAT IV along with some aural checks to back the machine up...

I'm still earning my wings in this industry and I'm trying to get an  
idea of what is considered normal (if there is such a thing!). Thanks  
in advance.

Regards,

Rob McCall
Murrieta, CA