[pianotech] Pitch raise criteria

[Ryan Sowers]

I don't like the assumption that in-home tunings are somehow inferior to
concert tunings.

 OK, maybe I don't pound *quite* as hard for a "regular" tuning, but my
mentors always taught me to do the best job I can, even for normal average
every-day tunings.

One reason is this: How will you be prepared to accomplish a concert tuning
if you haven't been practicing it all along? If you get the opportunity to
work for an artist who really CAN hear, how will you be able to sock it in,
if you haven't been practicing the skill??

Some tuners are just more picky than others. There is an attitude that "the
client can't tell the difference between a A+ tuning and a B- so I will
settle for the B-."

The reason I often do "multi-pass" pitch raises is because often after the
first pitch raise is done, I still don't find the piano close enough to put
me into fine-tuning mode. I prefer the final pass to be mostly a "touch-up"
tuning. Hopefully there will be some strings that are right on, and most of
the others that need adjusting will be within a cent or two.

This is why almost EVERY piano I tune gets a double tuning. SERIOUSLY out of
tune pianos get a triple or quadruple tuning.

The pitch raise, over-pull feature on the ETDs are terrific, but to think
that you can consistently achieve the BEST results with just one pitch-raise
pass seems unlikely based on my own experience.

On Tue, Aug 4, 2009 at 3:41 PM, Duaine & Laura Hechler <dahechler at att.net>wrote:

> OK - I'll bite.
>
> Why is most everyone talking about a "multi-pass" pitch raise.
>
> Since I was taught, with RCT, to do a one-pass, A0 - top, tuning unisons
> as I go.
>
> Why ? Is the multi-pass better ? Or is it that pitch raising with aural
> tuning harder because you have to figure in overpull as you go ? Or is
> it that the RCT handles the above one pass equal or better ? Or is it
> just a persons preference ?
>
> Please keep it to non-concert or institutional tunings - meaning general
> public tunings.
>
> Just trying to demystify and make sense of all these different views.
>
> Duaine
>
>

-- 
Ryan Sowers, RPT
Puget Sound Chapter
Olympia, WA
www.pianova.net
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