Pianotech

Back to discussions
Expand all | Collapse all

Longest time between tunings

  • 1.  Longest time between tunings

    Member
    Posted 08-06-2022 21:38

      Of all of the pianos you have tuned in your career what has been the longest time between tunings you have done on a customers piano or from the history of tunings as told by the customer ?

    The top 2 in my case are both Baldwin Acrosonic spinets . Number one had not been tuned in 60 years- the owner was 65, got the piano when she was 5 and never remembers it ever being tuned, I forget the exact reading but it was off the range of my SATIII. many pitch adjustments later the beast was tamed no strings where broken

     I completed another Baldwin Acrosonic yesterday that was built in 1975, owned by the current owners aunt and never tuned after delivery in 1975. several pitch adjustments and a fine tuning with a little hammer voicing and it sounded pretty good

    ------------------------------
    James Kelly
    Owner- Fur Elise Piano Service
    Pawleys Island SC
    (843) 325-4357
    ------------------------------


  • 2.  RE: Longest time between tunings

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 08-06-2022 21:44
    Back in St Louis I tuned for customer with a Gulbranson spinet which I had tuned 12 years previously. It was on pitch and basically in tune. I asked her if she had been cheating on me. She said no.

    Wim.

    Sent from my iPhone




  • 3.  RE: Longest time between tunings

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 08-06-2022 22:49
    My longest was 27 years.  I had tuned it for the mother one Christmas,and 27 years later, the daughter inherited the piano, called me to tune because "my card was in the piano".  No one had tuned it since and most of the unisons were still within a couple of cents.... 
    Regards, 



    Original Message


  • 4.  RE: Longest time between tunings

    Posted 08-06-2022 23:28

    Doing the work that well does cut down the volume of repeat tunings, doesn't it? But fun.




    Original Message


  • 5.  RE: Longest time between tunings

    Posted 08-06-2022 23:27

    Reminds me of a customer. Looking in the computer, I had tuned the piano twice, seven years before and two years before that. She said, 'Oh, I get it tuned every year." So I said something diplomatic about having another tuner. "Oh, no," she said, "I only have you tune it,"

    For owners, psychological time between tunings has a great dilation effect.




    Original Message


  • 6.  RE: Longest time between tunings

    Posted 08-06-2022 23:24

    Okay, in the 1990's I tuned an upright which had last been tuned in 1938. I knew that was right, because the owner had been a child at the time, and had been with the piano ever since.

    It was a perfect fourth low, and I brought it to pitch in several passes. She was sending it to her daughter in AZ (from CA) and I warned her to have her daughter get it tuned two weeks after it arrived due to the very different conditions.

    Big old upright, seemed in perfect condition, case immaculate.






  • 7.  RE: Longest time between tunings

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 08-07-2022 01:27

    I was great to read these – very entertaining.  I'm sure I have tuned a good number of pianos that haven't been tuned for 30 years, but not 60!

     

    For me, this raises a question:  when people get advice on how often to have a piano tuned, what is that based on?  The Yamaha website says once a year, twice during the first year.  A lot of people seem to have the impression that something will go wrong with their piano if it goes many years without tuning.  When customers ask me, I say "Anywhere between once a day and once every five years."  That is the actual range, in my experience.  This spring I tuned a concert piano on each of three successive days – there were two days of rehearsals and then the concert.  At the other end, I have a few customers who get in touch roughly every five years.  When I get there, the piano is out of tune, but often not horribly.  Nothing is broken or otherwise wrong.  I tune it, they can tell it sounds better (most of the time).

     

    Do any of us think that letting a piano go for 20 years will harm it?  We're mostly talking about older pianos here, mostly verticals, not concert instruments. 

     

    Depending on the day and my mood, my other answer is "When it sounds bad."






  • 8.  RE: Longest time between tunings

    Posted 08-07-2022 04:57

    I usually used to say, "when it bothers you." Sometimes I'd put an upper limit -- maybe five years? Since for some people, it will NEVER bother them.

    For the concert work, it's before every performance, of course.




    Original Message


  • 9.  RE: Longest time between tunings

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 08-07-2022 09:21

    I think it depends on where you live, the environment of the piano, the expectations of the clients, their tolerance for out-of-tuneness, and what additional work the piano may need. A brand new piano in its first year will probably only need tuning and maybe some voicing, but not much more than that. A piano that's older will need a lot more. 

    Personally, I recommend a six-month service call to my clients because they don't just hire me to tune their piano; they hire me to care for their piano. This involves tuning, but I usually do more than just tuning. It's amazing what even as little as 15 minutes can do to improve the playing experience.


    I can provide peace of mind if I see the piano regularly; I can't if I only see it once a decade. 



    ------------------------------
    Benjamin Sanchez, RPT
    Piano Technician / Artisan
    (256) 947-9999
    www.professional-piano-services.com
    ------------------------------

    Original Message


  • 10.  RE: Longest time between tunings

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 08-07-2022 10:08
    "Do any of us think that letting a piano go for 20 years will harm it?"

    I get asked that question, too. I tell them that technically the answer is no. But then I go on to say that while it doesn't harm the piano, it does harm their reputation. If you don't have the piano tuned on a regular basis, it will go badly out of tune. Then, when a friend or relative comes over who likes to play, and the piano is out of tune, you'll be embarrassed, just as you would be embarrassed when someone dropped by and you hadn't vacuumed the rugs or left dished in the sink.  That usually gets the point across. 

    Wim



    Original Message


  • 11.  RE: Longest time between tunings

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 08-07-2022 11:31
    I tell my clients. Pianos don't need to be tuned. Grass doesn't need to be mowed, floor doesn't need to be swept, cars don't need an oil change. All of these things are much nicer when taken care of.

    ------------------------------
    Larry Messerly, RPT
    Bringing Harmony to Homes
    www.lacrossepianotuning.com
    ljmesserly@gmail.com
    928-899-7292
    ------------------------------

    Original Message


  • 12.  RE: Longest time between tunings

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 08-07-2022 01:47
    I can't top Ed Foote's 27 years, but...
    A couple of years ago I hired a sister-in-law to update my overdue customer database, then sent out a lot of overdue cards.
    I did get a few surprises, I believe that longest were 15 and 17 years since my last service.

    ------------------------------
    Blaine Hebert RPT
    Duarte CA
    (626) 795-5170
    ------------------------------



  • 13.  RE: Longest time between tunings

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 08-07-2022 09:59
    Back in the late 80's tuning were not that plentiful, so I had my wife call all my customers I hadn't tuned for 5 years with the excuse that we were updating our data base. First she asked if they still owned the piano. If the answer was yes, she would ask if they had gotten another piano tuner. If the answer was no, she would ask if she should remove their name from the database.  Some of them would say yes, but most would say: "Oh, no, please don't remove me from the computer" in a desperate way, as if being removed from the database would somehow damage their piano. 

    We did get quite a few appointments, however, which made the exercise worthwhile. 

    Wim



    Original Message


  • 14.  RE: Longest time between tunings

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 08-07-2022 01:49
    Just as an aside here;
    I have been keeping track of my tuning data, recording my last 440 service and the pitch change in the ensuing time.  It makes for interesting information.  Perhaps even a short PTJ article.

    ------------------------------
    Blaine Hebert RPT
    Duarte CA
    (626) 795-5170
    ------------------------------



  • 15.  RE: Longest time between tunings

    Posted 08-07-2022 04:59

    Offer it to Scott Cole. He's always looking for Journal material.




    Original Message


  • 16.  RE: Longest time between tunings

    Posted 08-07-2022 04:24
    Aah - yes - we've all come across instruments which haven't been tuned for 20 to 40 years and are all over the place . . . but the real fun is where the tuning has held and held well over a long period . . . 

    Best wishes

    David P

    --
    - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
    David Pinnegar, B.Sc., A.R.C.S.
    - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
    +44 1342 850594





  • 17.  RE: Longest time between tunings

    Member
    Posted 08-07-2022 13:55
    Folks... keep the stories coming. Lately I have been taking pictures of the display on my SATIII along with the serial number and model /brand name of the piano.

    Sometimes I swear that I am being tested and an owner or the music director has tweaked the A with a tuning lever using an iphone or ipad app. What is even more mind boggling is finding pianos that need next to no work despite their poor tuning history. One was a primo Story & Clark that looked like it had just come off the factory floor. I was asked to inspect it for an estate sale. There was nothing to inspect. Eventually I tuned it after it was moved it did not even need a pitch adjustment. The serial number showed it to be 50 years old.

    Susan - you are in second place on The Leader Board . 1990-1938 = 52 years

    I think I need to write an article on why piano service is like dentistry. People have no idea when the piano was last tuned. Many put it off and then have to pay the price to get caught up. Dental work requires precision, concentration, craftsmenship just like good piano service.

    I always screen customers on the pianos history and some of the answers are quite amusing especially the response to how long has the piano been in your home here ?
    When was it last tuned ?  well..we moved here 5 years ago and it was tuned before we moved . I got busy .... my relatives are coming this weekend can you come today ???

    A lady actually told me her piano needed to be tuned and soon - can I drop it off at your shop ?

    ------------------------------
    James Kelly
    Owner- Fur Elise Piano Service
    Pawleys Island SC
    (843) 325-4357
    ------------------------------

    Original Message


  • 18.  RE: Longest time between tunings

    Posted 08-11-2022 11:17
    A Wurlitzer studio.  They bought it in 1980 and had it tuned that year.  The daughter got hold of it in 2021 and asked me to tune it.  It was just a little bit flat with some of the unions a bit out of sync.  I asked her if she was sure that they had not had it tuned in 41 years and the daughter called her mom and verified that it had sat in the same spot for that length of time and they had only had it tuned one time because the kids lost interest in taking lessons a couple of years after purchase.  I was amazed, but also happy that I didn't have to do a pitch raise.

    ------------------------------
    Patrick Greene
    OWNER
    Knoxville TN
    (865) 384-6582
    ------------------------------



  • 19.  RE: Longest time between tunings

    Posted 08-18-2022 23:15
    One woman said that before I began she wanted to tell me about the piano.
    It was one of those turn of the century giant uprights with the beautiful woodworking. It wasn't a brand I had heard of or could find a serial number for. Can't remember now what it was.
    Anyway her Great Granddad had bought it for her Great Grandmother who wanted to learn to play, but she never got around to learning. Then it was passed to her Grandmother who also never learned to play it. Now she has it she wanted her little kids to learn.
    They couldn't remember when the Great Grandfather bought it, but it has been a family joke that no one has learned to play it, and in all of that time it hadn't ever been tuned.
    Some of the family thought she shouldn't get it tuned out of tradition.

    I assumed that it really had been tuned sometime in the past and that the family story was exaggerated.
    But when I checked it with my tuning fork the A440 turned out to be closer to C#440.
    The hammers were hard like a rock, but had very little wear on them. But the weirdest thing was the tuning pins. They had a gold coating on them the same color as the plate. And as I tuned it you could tell where I had been because it would flake off a little. It looks like they coated the pins after they finished tuning it at the factory and it hadn't been touched in the 100+ years since.

    ------------------------------
    Gannon Rhinehart
    Santa Fe NM
    (505) 692-8385
    ------------------------------



  • 20.  RE: Longest time between tunings

    Member
    Posted 08-18-2022 23:44
    One of these days I plan to go through my list of all of the brands I have tuned. One was a tremendous vertical grand with carvings and amazing wood. It sounded like a grand piano and played like one. The owners grandmother had been a concert pianist and had it tuned and regulated often It is too bad you did not get a name or serial number. Ever since I had a digital camera I started taking pictures and now with an iphone and ipad I have many great pictures. From time to time I will go through the pictures and rename them with the proper brand name. If I ever get to Charlotte to tune the 5 pedal Wing I will probably find out it was never tuned since it was delivered in the early 1900's.....

    ------------------------------
    James Kelly
    Owner- Fur Elise Piano Service
    Pawleys Island SC
    (843) 325-4357
    ------------------------------

    Original Message