[pianotech] 0 - 88 in 20, or....?

[tnrwim at aol.com]

So, 15-20 seconds per note, for 88 notes, in 20 minutes? That's not an ETD, that's a time machine!   :D

-kurt

The 15 - 20 seconds is primarily for the three note unisons. Bi-chords take far less, and on most in tune pianos, the single bass notes don't even need tuning. 

Wim






-----Original Message-----
From: Kurt Baxter <fortefile at gmail.com>
To: pianotech <pianotech at ptg.org>
Sent: Sun, Feb 6, 2011 12:52 am
Subject: Re: [pianotech] 0 - 88 in 20, or....?


So, 15-20 seconds per note, for 88 notes, in 20 minutes? That's not an ETD, that's a time machine!   :D

-kurt

On Feb 5, 2011 10:01 PM, <tnrwim at aol.com> wrote:


Duaine
 
A "normal" tuning is one where the piano is basically on pitch. About half of my customers get their piano tuned at least once a year, and I have about 2 dozen twice a year customers. The rest of the normal tunings were tuned by someone else within a year or so.
 
Yes, the 20 minutes with the ETD includes unisons. I tune unisons as I go. I spend about 15 to 20 seconds on each note. I really don't need much more time that that. I guess because I've been doing this for 35 years, I've gotten a good handle on how much to pull or push the tuning lever to get the note to where I want it, the first time. That just comes with experience.  For the aural portion, because, as with you, most of my notes are either dead on or very close, it doesn't take much to tweak them. But I check, and double check, each note, using a variety of interval checks, to make sure each note is exactly where I want it. There is no firm number, but after my initial ETD tuning, I would guess that about half the notes need to be tweaked, mostly in the fifth and sixth octave. 

BTW, I take only ten minutes to do a pitch raise, which is done the same as normal tuning, but I don't spend much time on each note. All I want to do is get the tension of the whole piano up to where it belongs. I don't spend much time trying to get the lights to stop still on each note, or make sure each one of my unisons is dead on. I just want to get the piano in the ball park. Once the pitch is up to 440, then I do a regular ETD tuning. Depending on how the piano reacts, I might do a follow up ETD tuning before I end with an aural tuning. The total time is usually not more than 60 - 75 minutes.  


Wim


-----Original Message-----
From: Duaine Hechler <dahechler at att.net>
To: pianotech <pianotech at ptg.o...


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