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Joined: Apr 2016
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OP
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That the client tried to tune themselves? What's your opinion of them trying to do it themselves?
If they did something wrong, it's usually reversible. The disaster is clueless people who think they can use pliers to turn the pins, without even doing a google search on "how to tune a piano" and learning the crucial basics.
Last edited by MDaxo; 04/01/16 10:29 PM.
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Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 2,326
2000 Post Club Member
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Although we support DIY piano work, I have only come upon a very few times where I have followed upon a failed DIY attempt. I only remember one that was actually an utter failure. (Notes were a fifth or an octave off).
I have encountered more instances where the piano owner was a musician that kept a tuning lever to "touch up" when a tuner was not available.
Keith Akins, RPT
Piano Technologist
USA Distributor for Isaac Cadenza hammers and Profundo Bass Strings
Supporting Piano Owners D-I-Y piano tuning and repair
editor emeritus of Piano Technicians Journal
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Joined: Aug 2013
Posts: 14
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Joined: Aug 2013
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I recently tuned an upright piano that had a tuning hammer lying on top of it when I arrived. This was for a new client. I moved it to a shelf in the room. The tuning hammer was out of my mind within seconds of moving it and I proceeded to tune. Throughout the tuning I was perplexed at the way many of the notes had either gone sharp or flat. In some cases as much as an octave or more in either direction. I could not find any evidence within the piano to suggest why such strange pitch changes occurred. It tuned up quite nicely. I explained how strange it was to the client. It wasn't until about an hour after I left that I remembered the tuning hammer that I moved upon my arrival at that appointment. Then everything made sense and I felt bad that I had spoken so frankly with the client about the strange tuning.
Last edited by Jordan P; 04/02/16 09:58 PM. Reason: Correcting autocorrect.
Jordan P.
Piano Technician
Church Organist
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Joined: Jun 2003
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Yikes! 10000 Post Club Member
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Yikes! 10000 Post Club Member
Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 32,060 |
Actually, that ended up being quite diplomatic!
Semipro Tech
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Joined: Feb 2014
Posts: 353
Full Member
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Full Member
Joined: Feb 2014
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I have one client who plays guitar. Calls for tuning and says he tunes it, acts like tuning is real easy, no problem. I wonder why he calls. Result, whatever he uses to tune, the pins are chewed up. I hate these people.
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Joined: Apr 2016
Posts: 3
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OP
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Joined: Apr 2016
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I have one client who plays guitar. Calls for tuning and says he tunes it, acts like tuning is real easy, no problem. I wonder why he calls. Result, whatever he uses to tune, the pins are chewed up. I hate these people. That's where the problem is. A lot of DIY piano tuners will do extensive research, and even try "setting the pins", instead of treating it like a guitar.
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Joined: Dec 2001
Posts: 1,651
1000 Post Club Member
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1000 Post Club Member
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Amazing. I'm a DIY tuner and I did a lot of research before I ever touched the piano. I made sure I had good tools. I fact I ended up with quiet superior tools like the Fujan tuning hammer. I spoke with piano rebuilders and even my tuner before my first tune. My tuner lived far away and I wanted to keep the piano in playable condition until I could bare it no longer and had to call him. He was on board and in fact we had long and memorable conversations about tuning and other piano related topics. It actually worked out so well at the end that he asked if I would be interested in tuning some pianos for him since he was swamped. He would then come by and check the tuning to sign off on it. I never did it. I didn't have the time for it although I would have loved it. He since retired retired and I have no one to call. I'm basically on my own until I start researching and find a new tuner. I'm just not up to it. The tuner client relationship is a delicate and important relationship to me. It requires a lot of time. It's kind of like starting to date again after you broke up with someone. I really trusted and liked my tuner. It's hard to start all over again especially since I now have confidence and some competence. If a tuner came to my house to tune my DIY piano, they would not find chewed up pins or dust in the piano. I keep my piano closed and covered unless I'm playing it. He (or she) also won't find pictures of Grandmon or Granddad on it either. It's an instrument and not furniture. I'm surprised most DIYer's aren't more like me. If I was a pro and walked into some of the disasters I've read about, I think I would just say no thank you and decline the job.
Do or do not. There is no try.
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Joined: Aug 2011
Posts: 6,272
6000 Post Club Member
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6000 Post Club Member
Joined: Aug 2011
Posts: 6,272 |
... Throughout the tuning I was perplexed at the way many of the notes had either gone sharp or flat. In some cases as much as an octave or more in either direction. .... Wow -- An octave or more sharp? And the strings survived? What kind of piano, how old?
-- J.S. ![[Linked Image]](https://www.pianoworld.com/forum/gallery/42/thumbs/7588.jpg) ![[Linked Image]](https://www.pianoworld.com/forum/gallery/42/thumbs/7589.jpg) Knabe Grand # 10927 Yamaha CP33 Kawai FS690
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Joined: Apr 2016
Posts: 3
Junior Member
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OP
Junior Member
Joined: Apr 2016
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Amazing. I'm a DIY tuner and I did a lot of research before I ever touched the piano. I made sure I had good tools. I fact I ended up with quiet superior tools like the Fujan tuning hammer. I spoke with piano rebuilders and even my tuner before my first tune. My tuner lived far away and I wanted to keep the piano in playable condition until I could bare it no longer and had to call him. He was on board and in fact we had long and memorable conversations about tuning and other piano related topics. It actually worked out so well at the end that he asked if I would be interested in tuning some pianos for him since he was swamped. He would then come by and check the tuning to sign off on it. I never did it. I didn't have the time for it although I would have loved it. He since retired retired and I have no one to call. I'm basically on my own until I start researching and find a new tuner. I'm just not up to it. The tuner client relationship is a delicate and important relationship to me. It requires a lot of time. It's kind of like starting to date again after you broke up with someone. I really trusted and liked my tuner. It's hard to start all over again especially since I now have confidence and some competence. If a tuner came to my house to tune my DIY piano, they would not find chewed up pins or dust in the piano. I keep my piano closed and covered unless I'm playing it. He (or she) also won't find pictures of Grandmon or Granddad on it either. It's an instrument and not furniture. I'm surprised most DIYer's aren't more like me. If I was a pro and walked into some of the disasters I've read about, I think I would just say no thank you and decline the job. So what was the result of your first tuning? I hear stories of people trying to tune their pianos without learning about the concept of "pin setting" and by the next day, their piano is back to where it was before b/c the pin rotated back. Me myself, the reason I want to learn to tune my own piano is because I've spent 5 years studying tuning theory and the math behind it. 1/4-comma meantone, pythagorean tuning, anything, I can do it with a paper, pen, and calculator. And I'd like to retune my piano whenever I want to switch between temperaments.
Last edited by MDaxo; 04/06/16 03:33 PM.
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Joined: Jan 2011
Posts: 1,734
1000 Post Club Member
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1000 Post Club Member
Joined: Jan 2011
Posts: 1,734 |
So what is stopping you from trying?
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Joined: Aug 2011
Posts: 6,272
6000 Post Club Member
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6000 Post Club Member
Joined: Aug 2011
Posts: 6,272 |
Me myself, the reason I want to learn to tune my own piano is because I've spent 5 years studying tuning theory and the math behind it. 1/4-comma meantone, pythagorean tuning, anything, I can do it with a paper, pen, and calculator. And I'd like to retune my piano whenever I want to switch between temperaments. For that, you might want to look into the digital world. There are software pianos that run on a computer, fed by midi from a digital keyboard. They can be switched from one temperament to another with a mouse click, which sure beats spending a couple hours re-tuning a real piano only to find you want to change it yet again. It's also a lot of extra wear on your pin block.
-- J.S. Knabe Grand # 10927 Yamaha CP33 Kawai FS690
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Joined: Dec 2001
Posts: 1,651
1000 Post Club Member
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1000 Post Club Member
Joined: Dec 2001
Posts: 1,651 |
Amazing. I'm a DIY tuner and I did a lot of research before I ever touched the piano. I made sure I had good tools. I fact I ended up with quiet superior tools like the Fujan tuning hammer. I spoke with piano rebuilders and even my tuner before my first tune. My tuner lived far away and I wanted to keep the piano in playable condition until I could bare it no longer and had to call him. He was on board and in fact we had long and memorable conversations about tuning and other piano related topics. It actually worked out so well at the end that he asked if I would be interested in tuning some pianos for him since he was swamped. He would then come by and check the tuning to sign off on it. I never did it. I didn't have the time for it although I would have loved it. He since retired retired and I have no one to call. I'm basically on my own until I start researching and find a new tuner. I'm just not up to it. The tuner client relationship is a delicate and important relationship to me. It requires a lot of time. It's kind of like starting to date again after you broke up with someone. I really trusted and liked my tuner. It's hard to start all over again especially since I now have confidence and some competence. If a tuner came to my house to tune my DIY piano, they would not find chewed up pins or dust in the piano. I keep my piano closed and covered unless I'm playing it. He (or she) also won't find pictures of Grandmon or Granddad on it either. It's an instrument and not furniture. I'm surprised most DIYer's aren't more like me. If I was a pro and walked into some of the disasters I've read about, I think I would just say no thank you and decline the job. So what was the result of your first tuning? I hear stories of people trying to tune their pianos without learning about the concept of "pin setting" and by the next day, their piano is back to where it was before b/c the pin rotated back. Me myself, the reason I want to learn to tune my own piano is because I've spent 5 years studying tuning theory and the math behind it. 1/4-comma meantone, pythagorean tuning, anything, I can do it with a paper, pen, and calculator. And I'd like to retune my piano whenever I want to switch between temperaments. My first tunings were terrible. There's this thing called "stretch" that I just didn't understand. It took me at least a year of many tunings to start to get a feel for it. Hammer technique and pin stetting is an underestimated part of tuning that many DIYers don't appreciate. At least I didn't.
Do or do not. There is no try.
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