[pianotech] ETD tuning Vs Aural- Some Wisdom

[Bill Fritz]

Gary, no offense, but...  

Do you have two tuning hammers?  I sure do... maybe like 5.

Do you have extra tuning felts?  I sure do...  more than two full sets worth.

Do you only one battery for your iPAQ?  You might want to procure a back up.  I have a battery charger for my iPAQ so it can continue to function when I'm tuning, and have the iPAQ ready for the next piano in case there are no electrical outlets within 200'.  I have an extra battery (approx $17 generic)... actually 2 extras.  And I have an extra charger cord ($5 via Amazon).  I even carry extra heavy duty extension cords in my car.

Do you only have one ETD?  I have Veritune for my iPAQ... and a number of months ago I also bought ($599) Veritune for my iPhone4 (my cellphone I use for business, as well) as a back-up (and to play w/ the Spectrum mode :-).  TuneLab can be had for the iPhone for about $299, and can be downloaded in seconds...  Apple computers are standing by.

Do you only have one car?  If I'm a good little boy, my wife lets me use her's... which happened one time... driving away from the house, the computer said "Low Tire Pressure".  DANG!!  I don't think Aural (or walking) techniques would have gotten me to my client's & back (45mi one way).

Back-up plans are nice...   Bill Fritz, St Louis

PS  Your 27 years of Aural tuning are to be commended.  My RPT father was of similar era, tuning Aurally for at least 35 years, but he loved his SAT ETD when it came out, and bought a used spare in case it died.  He admitted that he wasn't sure he could do as good a tuning without it, having not Aurally tuned for years.




From:
Gary <gmcc at charter.net>

To:
pianotech at ptg.org

Subject:
Re: [pianotech] ETD tuning Vs Aural- Some Wisdom

Date:
Sun, 27 May 2012 14:04:36 -0500


To begin, let me mention that I use an ETD. I was an aural tuner for 27years before incorporating an electronic devise into my arsenal.
This past Thursday, there was a bit of communication breakdown between a client and I, regarding what time we actually made the appointment for.
Suffice it to say, that appointment wasn't kept. However, we did reschedule it for Sat morning. As I was ready to leave that morning, I reached for my IPAQ
on it's cradle, and was horrified to note that the charge light was not on, meaning, well..it wasn't charged. So, what was I to do? Call the lady and explain that
my tuning device wasn't charged, therefore I couldn't tune her piano? What, and really look like a fool then? No way; I just went and tuned it like I did back in the old days.
So, there is some worth in knowing..
gary
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