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Why do so many people have these.. They sound like garbage cans rolling down a flight of stairs. I'm literally going crazy trying to tune them. I can't seem to find good leverage when tuning them can you please share some solutions? Standing up doesn't work and sitting down doesn't work because the keybeds/case stick out way too far for me to "get in there." Also how do you strip mute them? Should I just use rubber mutes?

What exactly do you mean by "red headed step child"?

I was making a joke.. No one seems to like working on spinets

I've never strip muted a spinet before. I use two papps mutes and just work my way down, leap frogging one over the other. It gets easier the more you do it! Papps mutes are the way to go on smaller uprights, if you don't have any you'll want to get a hold of two and give it a try. As far as being " comfortable" goes...some spinets can be more difficult to find a "happy place" than others. I usually sit with my back toward the treble, and scutch my way down as I go. I'll usually stand for the last octave and that's it. And yea... Most do sound hideous but ah well, they sound better when I'm done so that's that!

And as with many jokes, when read by tens of thousands of people around the world, it falls flat.

I've changed the thread title. If you'd like to discuss the popularity/unpopularity of spinets, carry on.

I will try the leap frogging. I still am too tall to tune spinets though.

Not sure how tall you are but I'm 5'10", the're not my favorite tuning call but I get through them just fine. Maybe try getting up to stretch every octave or so? It may add some time but if it saves your back its probably worth it in the long run.

What are some good techniques that help save your shoulders and back? Randy potter suggests turning your body at a 45 degree angle towards the tuning pin and to lean slightly inward keeping your back straight, however with these shorter pianos its just really hard not to crouch inwards.

That's kinda how I sit. Like I said, with my body perpendicular to the keys, maybe slightly turned in, and I slide the bench ( or pick it up and move it...don't scratch the customers floor!!!!) and down as I go up the scale. This seems to work for me on console units as well. Full uprights and grands I usually sit straight forward. You just have to experiment a bit and find what works for you.

This winter spinet im tuning sounds god aweful. So many bizarre overtones very wonky

There are two issues here:

1. techniques for maintaining comfort - the physical options available to alter tuning technique based on the size of the instrument.

2. techniques for altering the tuning style to better match the piano...

Hint: a lot of what you may have been taught may not provide the best solution to the challenge at hand. Investigate other ways of holding the lever, impact techniques, even different tuning levers. As to the tuning style... sometimes it helps to think of these as "other" - not a piano, not a harpsichord, not a fortepiano; these are spinets!

Ron Koval

One solution would be to work on your attitude Mr Zebra

If you hate them, getting along with them will be impossible. I'm one of those freak tuners who actually enjoys working on them. And I have known some talented musicians who were very fond of their spinet piano. Are they challenging? Yes - which also makes them interesting.

Tuning them is more of a puzzle than larger pianos because the beat rates are unpredictable. You have to really listen to the piano to find an optimal solution for temperament, especially when it comes to extending it across the break.

Also, I find that the voicing on many spinet pianos is atrocious. I spend a lot of time at my tuning appointments roughing in the shape of the hammers and getting some deep needle jabs into the hammers to tame the wonky overtones. Spinets have a tendency to sound tinny, so keeping the hammers softer can really improve the tone. And don't forget to check hammer to string mating. I frequently find issues with this, especially in the bass.

Spinet clients are paying just as much as my Steinway grand clients, so I try to give them the equivalent service. Remember, the same things that work on a fine grand also work on a spinet to some degree.

I dont really have the attitude that they are beneath me or that i wouldnt try my best, but i am a new tuner and these pianos are frustrating and my back is always sore tuning them

Its also difficult for me to maneuver snd control the pins with these too

I'll second Ryan on hammer work. I don't think I've ever tuned a new clients spinet where hammer spacing, and string mating was optimal. A little shaping and voicing can go a long way to improving the tone. Sometimes I'll check string seating at the bridge as well, it can help knock down some of those nasty false beats. If I have false beats that persist after doing all the above, that's when the ear takes over and just try to "bury" it in the unison as best as you can.

I see spinets as a challenge to make them into the best piano I can. That's fun - it's not a chore. If tuning isn't fun for you, you might want to consider a different career. After 30 years, I still can't wait to get to my first piano of the day. For me, it's not work.

Winter spinets can be very challenging for an experienced tuner, and you are not yet experienced. Tuning spinets will get easier as you gain experience. I've never had issues stripping a spinet. Perhaps your temperament strips are too wide?

Most of the spinets I see for the first time are 1-2 notes flat, and more than one visit is needed. I do what I can, and try and convince the client to tune it more often.

Sorry.. but your initial post makes it appear you feel like they are beneath you to tune:

I never have the problems that are mentioned. I am 6 feet tall and actually find the spinet a joy to tune and the easiest on my body. I strip mute all pianos and use an impact technique on all pianos. Most of the time, I just pop a string into tune with one stroke and move on. I never try to tune any piano just once. I do one rough tuning followed by a fine tuning yet it rarely takes more than 45 minutes. I say that even though I have been tuning after a rotator cuff injury for 16 years. I just found a way to not have to use my shoulder. I didn't tell myself that I couldn't because I knew I had to and it was up to me to figure out how to do it.

From what I have seen you write, your greatest problem has been with attitude as others have said. You set yourself up to fail, so you do. Your second is perception. It's always the piano's fault. There is no piano that you get to tune which is good enough for you so all you perceive are unsolvable problems. Everything sounds bad to you but to your clients, it is their piano and they like the piano they have. The third greatest problem you have is with experience and technique. As with most beginners, you expect to be able to "turn" a tuning pin as you would a guitar peg. It doesn't work that way.

My original title of this thread " Spinet Piano the red headed step child" was a joke (even it was flat..) I'm just trying to poke a little fun at them is all.

Thank you all for your thoughtful and helpful responses. I am totally serious about learning to tune and I share the same excitement for pianos as you all do..I would never never ever give a client attitude over their choice of piano-- obviously that is one way to lose business..

However, I think you guys forget that I've only tuned a total of maybe 15 times.. These spinet pianos are a struggle for me, and I can't help but to feel a little less enthusiastic about them presently. I've tuned a Wurlitzer , a Winter, and an Acrosonic. All three were very uncomfortable to work with, although, the Acrosonic had a nice powerful tone to it. If someone could show me their techniques/methods when dealing with spinets it would be very helpful.

The biggest problem for me when tuning these is that I can't lean my body totally into them to gain some leverage, so I find myself crouching inward. Also is a longer tuning hammer better or a shorter one for these. I just bought a 13" Fujan hammer ( love it), but it feels like it maybe a little long for slighter adjustments of the tuning pin.