Honest Price For A Tuning

You give me the opportunity to answer a very delicate question.

Every technician gives a certain value to their own work. Everyone has trained over the years, investing time and money, and has acquired a "certain" expertise. Not all technicians are often prepared for every type of intervention. Some know how to tune very well, but do not have experience, for example, with voicing. Some think about "standardizing" regulation and/or think that what their father or grandfather said was the truth. Some pursue personal philosophies that distinguish them and would like to perform a certain intervention on all the pianos they visit, because they think that everything or much depends on doing or not doing this or that.

I believe that everyone should intervene according to their own experience, trying to understand, first of all, what the pianist requires most urgently. It is, however, professional to analyze and "examine" the entire instrument, from top to bottom, and reveal everything that would be necessary "to do".

In this scenario, it is not easy to say how much a "tuning" might cost. Often the Tuner or, better yet, the Technician, is called for a "tuning," but many times they find themselves having to resolve other problems.

Every intervention must contend with competence, time, materials and equipment used, and the type of piano.

It is difficult to establish from a distance even the cost of a single tuning.

Sometimes a piano has not been tuned for a long time and has drifted from pitch. Or it has very old and disharmonious strings. Or.......

I know you will shrug your shoulders at this response of mine, but believe me, the Technician's honesty and professionalism must dictate the impossibility of standardizing an intervention cost. Naturally, the distance to be traveled to reach the client also has an influence.

I also believe that some time should be spent talking and deciding together how to articulate the good maintenance of the instrument with minimum expense and consolidate a good mutual relationship of trust.

P.S. The issue with the partial in question is certainly highlighted by your sensitivity to that partial, but if it also translated into harshness of the fundamental note, then it would be well-intoned. It could also depend on an imperfect alignment of that hammer zone according to the optimal striking point. All to be seen.... It could also depend on the release of the damper (too late and not simultaneously across its entire length, for example... check it!!)

Oh finally someone who made me realize they have passion! Unfortunately, those who came to my house were a bit attached to money!

To be honest, I am not afraid to spend, because I know how difficult it is to deal with a piano in its uniqueness, but it bothers me to give my money to people who believe they are wizards and cannot solve my problems. Thank you Paolo.

Now I'll check: regarding the partial issue, I explained myself poorly. The note sounds, but when I release the key (and therefore the damper is activated), that partial comes out.

And so. Do it slowly. See if the entire face of the damper felt rests simultaneously on the strings and simultaneously along its entire length. If it is OK, you can try to lower or raise the damper head vertically. If it is a flat felt damper, no difficulty: act on the small screw that will allow you to slide the head along the rod. Then, by acting on the rod, recenter the head properly. If the damper has a two-cusped shaped felt, it is more difficult but you can try: after sliding the head along the rod, recenter it by acting on the rod twice, once at the bottom and once at the top. By doing this, the head recenters itself by moving in parallel. Good luck.

My tuner wants €80 just to tune.

pianoexpert wrote:

So then. Do it slowly. See if the entire face of the damper felt rests simultaneously on the strings and simultaneously along its entire length. If it is OK, you can try to lower or raise the damper head vertically. If it is a flat felt damper, no difficulty: act on the small screw that will allow you to slide the head along the rod. Then, by acting on the rod, recenter the head properly. If the damper has a two-cusped shaped felt, it is more difficult but you can try: after sliding the head along the rod, recenter it by acting on the rod twice, once at the bottom and once at the top. By doing this, the head recenters itself by moving parallelly. Good luck

I tried to unscrew the damper screw, but I didn't succeed, probably because I don't have screwdrivers with a thick handle and a small Phillips head at home: I will see about getting one suitable for my needs.

I tried another test: I played the note loudly and tested the differences between letting the mechanism work on its own and helping it slightly by pressing towards the strings. The result was that the phenomenon decreases when helping the damper, so I think it is indeed a problem of its positioning in stopping the strings. However, since it hasn't been tuned for almost a year, it is probably also due to the imperfect concordance of the unisons. Let me explain: besides hearing the sixth partial, I also heard the sol after it. Am I talking nonsense?

P.S. Paolo, thanks again for the advice, I hope one day to be able to meet up with the people from the forum over a bottle of wine and a large plate of amatriciana pasta!

I love matriciana!!!!!! A nice structured red goes well with it!!!! 😆

it is clear that if one facet of the damper does not rest simultaneously, it can originate a harmonic. Try on the guitar: You can play harmonics by lightly touching the string at different distances on the fretboard while the right hand plucks. The damper acts as a "touch" and sets a harmonic in motion. Ok?

Your tuner is asking a fair price. I hope that the tuning is satisfactory for you and, above all, long-lasting over time.

pianoexpert wrote:

I love the matriciana!!!!!! A nice structured red goes well with it!!!! 😆

it is clear that if one part of the damper does not rest simultaneously, it can originate a harmonic. Try it on the guitar: You can play harmonics by lightly touching the string at different distances on the fretboard while the right hand plucks. The damper acts as a "touch" and sets a harmonic in motion. Ok?

Your tuner is asking a fair price. I hope that the tuning is satisfactory for you and, above all, long-lasting over time.

Unfortunately, in my area, I haven't found "my tuner" yet: I have already changed several, but none has ever completely satisfied me. Thank you for the prompt response! I am truly happy to be subscribed here!

camy86 wrote:

I tried to unscrew the damper screw, but I didn't succeed, probably because I don't have screwdrivers with a thick handle and a small Phillips head at home: I will see about getting one suitable for my needs.

I tried something else: I played the note loudly and tested the difference between letting the mechanism work on its own and helping it slightly by pressing towards the strings. The result was that the phenomenon decreases when helping the damper, so I think it is indeed a problem with its positioning in stopping the strings. However, since it hasn't been tuned for almost a year, it is probably also due to the imperfect concordance of the unisons. Let me explain: besides hearing the sixth partial, I also heard the sol after it. Am I talking nonsense?

P.S. Paolo, thanks again for the advice, I hope one day to be able to meet up with the people from the forum over a bottle of wine and a big plate of amatriciana pasta!

Delicious amatricianaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa !!!! 😆

pianoexpert wrote:

I love amatriciana!!!!!! IT GOES WELL WITH A NICE STRUCTURED RED!!!! 🙂

It is clear that if a part of the damper does not rest simultaneously, it can generate a harmonic. Try it on the guitar: You can play harmonics by lightly touching the string at different distances on the fretboard while the right hand plucks. The damper acts as a "touch" and sets a harmonic in motion. Okay?

Your tuner is asking a fair price. I hope the tuning is satisfactory for you and, above all, long-lasting.

Thank you Paolo. 😉

Hi Andrea. I remember once finding myself playing on a piano with a similar problem, a Yamaha piano and almost new. I also had this problem of "notes playing by sympathy." When I inquired about what interventions the technician had performed, they told me that he had readjusted the damper of the string that was playing sympathetically. In other words, this string was playing on its own because the damper was holding it "free," and was a few millimeters away from it. Resolved by paying, they told me, less than ten euros for the intervention and ten for the call (the technician was from Turin and the piano in the province). I don't know if what I told you can be useful to you, also because, as Paolo says, the technician should "see" the whole piano and understand the client's urgency.

Hi!