Accu-Tuner Sales
I’ve been a distributor for Inventronics. Inc. since 1984. In addition to Al and Mary Sanderson and Henry Schymzt at Inventronics, there were originally 3 distributors, Jim Coleman Sr, Rick Baldassin, and myself. I think Jim Coleman SR had one of the first 12 AccuTuners made – I believe they were and are affectionately referred to as ‘the dirty dozen’. My first SAT was Ser. # 73 ~ which, by the way, is still in use today by a friend and fellow technician in Kansas City. Also in the 80′s I developed, marketed, and sold a line of tool cases (Accu-Tech) for AccuTuner Technicians. I’ve been happily informed many of these cases are still in use today.
Using Memory Tunings
One of the reasons I believe I was selected as a Distributor for Inventronics was because from the beginning, I learned to use the AccuTuner’s memory. I used the AccuTuner to record tunings during the day, and entered the tunings into my old (IBM) PC during the evenings so I could look at and study the charts. This was the beginning of my 25 year journey into the mathematical (scientific) combined with the aural aspects or piano tuning. The AccuTuner was the first machine with more than enough accuracy and memory to allow me to duplicate my own personal work.
During this time I thought it would be a good to be able to use a stored 88 note tuning for pitch raises. My 54 page Accutuner was full of my own 88 note tunings and I used them all the time. At this time there was no MIDI AccuTuner (SAT II). I used Lotus 123 spreadsheets to do the math, but I had to store each note into and out of the SAT one note at a time.
In 1985, the idea of an 88 note memory tuning being good for anything was almost heresy ~ since of course, “All pianos need to be tuned individually, don’t they?” To a certain extent they do of course, but my experiences of the time was telling me that there was a value to what I was doing. There were probably others out there doing similar work to mine. But that was the climate and the situation back then.
I got some grief from some pretty heavy hitters in this business. But this business, as all businesses, is actually very competitive. As we look around our business now we see every tuning option out there supplying massive amounts of 88 note tunings derived from one formula or method or another.
One of the services I would do with my AccuTuner customers was to help them install 3 of my 88 note tunings into their new AccuTuners. This was back in the old Stretch tuning days. I had 3 tunings I would give them, one with a stretch number of 4.8, one with a stretch of 5.5, and the 3rd one was 6.3.
If they would pay for the phone call I would coach them thru installing these 3 tunings into their SATs. Customers enjoyed learning how to install a tuning into their new AccuTuners. I would explain to them that the tunings were starting points and would probably help them with pitch raising and if they were ever in a pinch – for instance, needing to do a quick job to get the piano out the door so the movers could get it to the customers house on Christmas eve – it would probably get them by. Little did I realized how many of those guys used those same 3 tunings for years on just about every piano they tuned.
Sanderson AccuTuner as a piano tuner’s tutor
Over the years, I have taught at various seminars, chapter meetings, and National Conventions on various topics relating to the Sanderson AccuTuner. I have always tried to provide service after the sale to help the new owners make the most out of their new (or used) AccuTuner and to get them tuning and making money with it as quickly as possible.
The AccuTuner allows the technician to become as involved as he wants in the tuning process. The AccuTuner is a very sophisticated and accurate pitch measuring device, combined with a computer’s memory.
The AccuTuner is the perfect tool for both beginner and experienced craftsman ~ allowing for unending growth and refinement. The AccuTuner assists in learning about the piano. The more we learn about the tuning process, the more the AccuTuner can help us learn where we can improve as professional piano technicians.
As time goes on and this site matures, I will be posting some articles Accu Tuner users may want to read. The Double Octave Beat feature is brilliant and I would like to share some of the ways it can be used to refine a tuning to fit the piano so even the dumb pianos sound good.
Bob Conrad, Tucson, AZ (520) 784-1549
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