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I'm a piano teacher living on a military base in Southern CA in a house cooled by a swamp cooler. My piano does not like this, but I have little choice for the next year or so. I had my piano tuned in June but as soon as the weather settled down in the 90's (fall for us!), the tuning went right out the single-pane window. I want to get some reasonably priced tuning tools so I can do touch up jobs between the professional tunings. Any suggestions of what to get? I'd appreciate any advice. My B flats are VERY embarrassing.
~Bonnie

You would be taking much better care of your piano to control the humidity. This would not only extend the tunings, but also prevent the damage that the humidity swings are causing:
http://www.pianolifesaver.com

I've seen humidity go from 35% to 65% in half an hour when a swamp cooler starts up. Ideally, humidity should stay within a 10% range.

--Cy--

My piano tuner said that something that small wouldn't be able to handle the humidity differences caused by a swamp cooler. Do you think it could? I live in the Mojave desert. The humidity levels are never natuaraly high( or medium, for that matter).

It may be tougher to touch up your tunings than you think, Bonnie. Or, maybe you already know what's involved.

Not to discourage you, but most of the drastic change you describe is probably happening in the center section, where you will need temperament and octave tuning skills -- not just be able to touch up unisons. You'll be changing the heart of the tuning. Maybe you're aware of that.

In any case, good luck and have fun!

Jeff

The system is configured for each individual piano, and each environment it's in. There are many different options to tackle extreme conditions: two water tanks can be used; the undercover or back cover can be added; a string cover on top also helps (for grands).

The latest humidistat, the H-5, is supposed to do an even better job of control than the previous versions.

It's a gray scale, not all or nothing; the better humidity is controlled, the more stable your tuning will be.

--Cy--

Hey Bonnie,

I see you have an everett from your profile... is it an upright? They are easier to control because the unit is pretty much in a closed box. Add a back cover, and you are set!

Since the humidity never gets high, you might opt for only the drying bars and the brain... It's always a possibility to add extra bars. I know of one tech that installs an analog clock into the system during the wet season and comes back to check it in a few days to make sure there is enough power in there to allow the system to cyle off.

Other than that, what Cy said... some control is better than none!

Ron

Ron,

The humidity probably goes from 35% to 65%. Both sides would be used.

Installing half a system is like the cruise control in a car: it accelerates, but doesn't hit the brakes, so it does a bad job of controlling speed downhill.

Unless you're somewhere like Singapore, the water tank will do a faster job of getting humidity up where it needs to be than the ambient air will. And if the piano's ever moved -- then what?

The Mojave Desert is plenty dry enough to need a water tank.

I'm building a better system than the analog clock to monitor the installation, using two power meters with digital readouts. It's hard to get an accurate reading out of the clock when you let it run for a few days (you can tell if it moved or not). I found the parts cheap on eBay; contact me if you want details.

--Cy--

wow, thanks Cy for the catch - that's what I get for posting before my brain is awake!
(I'll wait until I FINISH that first cup of coffee next time.)

Now that I read it again.... oops. (sorry folks)

Oh, and Bonnie,

Get a tuning lever and a few rubber mutes. If it is an upright, you'll want some narrow ones. The wire handles are nice too. The quickest way to check a unison is just mute off one string at a time and see if two out of three match. Then bring the "rogue" string back into usison with the other two.

The bass strings are the most stable, so refer to them if you want to start adjusting octaves. The first couple of octaves of the plain-wire strings are usually the ones that go out the most!

Thanks, guys! Your imput has helped me a lot! The Piano-LifeSaver System looks pretty good since we'll be moving all over the country with the USAF. (Home is where the Air Force sends us!) You guys gave me a lot to think about in regards to the care of my piano. It's making me $ now so I need to treat it well.
Thanks,
Bonnie