I recently posted about an annoying buzz I am having with a note on my piano. I've had my regular tuner/tech look at it and he tried to isolate it but no success. Part of the problem is that he can't hear it (I think it's pitched higher than he can hear.)

I've tried to do a little homespun diagnosis, with the help of the good people on this forum - took the action out, looked for damper wires hitting strings, looked for foreign objects on the soundboard, checked out hinges, tightened every screw I could see, etc. - all to no avail.

The noise is driving me nuts. I'd like to get another technician to take a stab at it, but don't want to go behind the back of my regular tuner.

Here's my question to the tuner/technicians on the forum: Should I give my regular tuner a call and see if he minds if I get someone else out to track down the noise? I would assure him that I still want him to still be the main person to tune and maintain the piano over the long haul. I suspect he'll be OK with it, since when he did come out, he basically told me he had done everything he could think of.

Just don't want to offend him - he's very good, and very nice - probably the senior tuner/tech in the area.

You could try to get a piece of plastic tubing and use it like a stethoscope to find the location of the buzz.

If your tech has already admitted not being able to either hear the noise or that he can fix it I would think he should feel no hidden message behind you trying another pair of ears.

I have no objections to someone else coming in, except when I have to fix whatever they messed up afterwards.

Ditto - sometimes a fresh pair of ears helps.

Don't forget the frequent admonition that these mysterious little buzzes often turn out to be something in another part of the room--ceiling fans, metal ornaments touching something and resonating sympathetically with that particular note's frequency etc....

Thanks to all of you for your thoughtful replies. I appreciate it (and will take another look around the room for sympathetic vibrations)...

Steve, if you ask 5 different techs, you'll get 5 different answers, so yes, second and third opinions are worth getting until you come to a satisfactory answer for you.

You have every right to be satisfied with your service within the reasonable limitations of an acoustic instrument. Buzzes require patience, logical deduction and time. Usually it's something blindingly stupid and obvious but be prepared to pay for your sanity. It could take a competent tech an hour or better to trace it down.

I had one yesterday on a Acro spinet. Nice piano, limed oak 982. Sounded like something fell from the top onto the board. Pulled it out, scanned around, checked ribs, tightened buttons, check the glue joints on the edges, no go. Pushed it back and tapped the wall. Buzzzzing. They had a mirror over the piano with compression type springs holding the glass in place. Certain notes in the midrange would set one of the springs to singing. Most buzzes are just silly.