Thank you for your business and special thanks to everyone for leaving such kind words of support.   It is very much appreciated!

Each and every comment is important to my piano tuning business here in Tucson, AZ.

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What is a Registered Piano Technician (RPT)?

The field of Piano technology is an unregulated trade. Therefore the Piano Technicians Guild has set its own standards of quality for piano technicians. The Guild has two types of members: Registered Piano Technicians and Associates. Associate membership is open to anyone with a “professional or avocational interest in piano technology.” On the other hand, the title of “Registered Piano Technician” must be earned by passing a series of examinations.

The RPT examinations are in three parts. There is a written exam, testing basic knowledge of piano design, tuning theory, repair and general piano technology. Next, a technician takes a standardized tuning exam. At least three examiners, set up a “master tuning” by tuning a test piano until they are convinced as a group that every note is in the best possible place. This “master tuning” is then used as the standard against which the examinee is measured. Using sensitive electronic measuring equipment, the examinee’s tuning is compared against the “master tuning.” This system gives a fair and standardized test for all chapters of the Piano Technicians Guild. The next phase of the examinations is a “technical test.” This test involves regulation of a grand action model and a vertical action model. On the test for the vertical action, the examinee is given a bag of parts, and must assemble it into an action model and make it function correctly. This method keeps the exam a reasonable length but still tests for the necessary skills. Then there is a repair test, covering all the basic in-home type repairs, such as broken strings, key repairs, and broken action parts.

The rating of RPT is not meant to be a rating for a rebuilder; it is meant to show that the technician is ready to handle normal piano service and repair. The Piano Technicians Guild has put a lot of time and effort into its examinations to establish a good set of standardized tests which will help insure quality service. The written test takes about 1 hour. The tuning and technical tests take about 4 hours each.

Only Registered Piano Technicians can advertise with that title. The Piano Technicians Guild does allow Associate members to advertise as “Associate” members, but these members have not yet passed the exams. They are encouraged to take advantage of PTG’s educational offerings. When you are looking for service on your piano, look for a Registered Piano Technician. The logo above designates that the member is an RPT. Note the words Registered Piano Technician in the logo itself.

Here are our official descriptions of these categories :

A Registered Piano Technician (RPT) has passed a series of rigorous examinations on the maintenance, repair, and tuning of pianos. Only RPTs are authorized by The Piano Technicians Guild to display the logo containing the words “Registered Piano Technician”.

An Associate is a member who has not passed the RPT examinations. Associates may be studying piano technology and working toward RPT status, or may be piano retailers, rebuilders, refinishers or other specialists.

Steinway & Sons

… Unfortunately, no matter how expertly a piano is tuned, atmospheric variations, particularly humidity, and the nature of the piano’s construction constantly conspire to bring it off pitch.

Your Steinway piano has been designed and built so that in normal use and under normal conditions it should need only periodic tuning. We recommend that your tuner be called at least 3 or 4 times a year. You, however, are the final judge and should have the piano tuned as often as you think necessary. To put the matter of tuning into perspective, remember that a concert piano is tuned before every performance and a piano in a professional recording studio, where it is in constant use, is tuned 3 or 4 times each week as a matter of course.

Tuning is an art practiced by skilled professionals and under no circumstances should anyone other than a professional be allowed to try to tune your Steinway piano.

• Baldwin

In the first year, … have your piano tuned four times. This is a period of environmental adjustment for a new instrument and proper attention is important.

After the first year, the piano should be tuned at least twice each year depending upon the frequency of use and atmospheric conditions. … arrange for a reputable technician to service your piano regularly.

• Yamaha

Why schedule regular service? Having your piano serviced regularly is a lot like taking vitamins. As you regularly take vitamins, you generally feel better and you are able to perform at your peak level. Also, taking vitamins helps you avoid serious illnesses and other health-related problems. The same is true regarding regular service for your piano. Regular service will keep your piano’s performance (and your enjoyment) at its peak level. It will also correct “progressive” problems early, before they turn into costly repairs. For these reasons Yamaha strongly recommends that you adopt a schedule of regular service for your piano.

… The strings need to be tuned a minimum of twice a year to restore them to their proper tension.

• Bösendorfer

Climatic factors such as temperature or humidity changes may cause the precise tuning of your piano to vary. Also naturally over time the tuning will alter due to the tensions the strings are constantly under.

If your piano receives normal use, we advise you to have your instrument tuned 2 or 3 times a year. Instruments which are being used more frequently, such as concert halls and recording studios, are being tuned before each concert or recording session.

It is practically impossible to talk about pianos, piano tuning, and piano care without talking about the humidity.

A first step in understanding how humidity is effecting the piano is  knowing what the humidity is in the home or room where the piano is located.

An accurately calibrated Taylor 5565 Hygrometer/Thermometer will work just fine.   Its easy to see, and this Taylor 5565 has calibration ‘screws ‘ accessible from the back (see above photo), which can be used to calibrate both the hygrometer and thermometer using a sling psychrometer.

If you have one, just let me know when I am there, and I will be happy to check the calibration and adjust it for you while servicing your piano.

There are many vendors that carry this Taylor 5565 Hygrometer, and I am sure there are other good analog hygrometers out there that have the adjustment screws on the back.     Just make sure the one you buy can be calibrated, and is of reasonably high quality.

One of my customers has a wet bulb/dry bulb hygrometer hanging on his wall – also made by Taylor.   It needs water in it at all times, and in order to calculate the humidity, both dry bulb and wet bulb temperatures need to be noted and then used to calculate the humidity using the ‘tables’ on the front.  It might be a little more trouble, but it’s accurate.

I am not a big fan of most  ’digital’ hygrometers.

When we moved to Tucson a few years ago,  we brought 3 or 4  small digital hygrometers with us.  After leaving them right next to each other for a few days, they all read differently –   a 15 % – 20% difference between them!     There was no way to calibrate them.

Sanderson Accu-Tuner IV

The Pelican case is solid. The new SAT IV can be ‘tossed’ into almost any type of carrying case ~ without fear of damage from any other tools.

A new display window, bigger buttons, and a new USB port.

The new display is back lighted, and the brightness can be raised or lowered, or turned on or off at the user’s discretion. There is a signal strength indicator in the window which shows the strength (amplitude) of the partial the SAT IV is listening to when tuning.   ***Not shown in these pictures is a new optional larger character screen in which the characters are almost 4X the size shown in the standard model.

The complete header of the tuning can now be viewed in the display.   ‘Help’ menus for various functions of the SAT IV can also be shown in the display window.

All inputs and outputs, as well as the microphone are on the inside display ‘half’ of the SAT IV.

USB port

The Piano Librarian software is included with the purchase of the Sanderson Accu-Tuner IV.

The Piano Librarian software connects to the SAT IV to your computer via USB instead of the old MIDI connectors found on the SAT II and III.

SAT IV Display

Currently the memory of the SAT IV has protected locations for all of Inventronic’s Generic Tunings, and pages for: a custom Pitch Raise over pull page; 8 pages for Sequences;  pages for storing 28 different temperaments; and the PTG Tuning Exam. There are 122 of what I will call ‘UNprotected’ pages of memory ~ pages which allow full read/write access.

SAT IV Keyboard

Now available is the ability to ‘cut and paste’ tunings from the keyboard of the SAT IV.  This cutting and pasting allows us to move a tuning to a different location for modification during tuning using DOB,  offsets, or other tweaks and changes.  The  original version remains unscathed and in it’s original location.

The bottom of the SAT IV has a heavy-duty ‘sticky’ pad and will neither ‘scoot’ around nor damage the surface of whatever it sits upon. The SAT IV can easily be placed in a number of locations in and on the piano. The ability to open the lid and adjust it’s angle makes the display easy to see and adjust for any glare.   ***  The new optional large character screen makes viewing at a distance much easier.

The SAT IV is priced @ $1600 and includes: foot pedal, and bat charger, Piano Librarian software, a USB cable, and Instructions Manuals.  *** The new “large character Accu-Tuner IV”  is $1700.00.

Bob Conrad (520) 784-1549

Click here - What is a Registered Piano Technician?

2011 Sanderson Accu-Tuner Catalog

(If you have been considering an Accu-Tuner purchase, you might want to know there will be a price increase Sept 17, 2011.  The new prices are shown in the catalog.)

I’ve been a distributor for Inventronics. Inc. since 1984. My first SAT was Ser. # 73, which as far as I know, is still in use today by a fellow technician in Kansas City. Also in the 80′s I developed, marketed, and sold a line of tool cases (Accu-Tech) for Accu-Tuner Technicians. Many of these cases are still in use today.

 Bob Conrad, Tucson, AZ (520) 784-1549

Click here - What is a Registered Piano Technician?

Partial changes:  These new tunings contain only two partial changes:
1. The tenor partial change is between G#2(6th partial)/A2 (4th partial)
2.The treble partial change is between A4 (4th partial) /A#4. (fundamental or 1st partial).

The use of the 2nd partial (in the mid-range-treble) has been eliminated.

Eliminating the use of the 2nd partial in the 5th octave eliminates 2 potential errors and the ‘math’ needed to correct them.   Thanks go out to a good friend and fellow technician Chuck Littau for this suggestion. The SAT’s  light’s rotation is a little slower for 8 or 9 notes, but the extra flexibility and accuracy achieved made eliminating use of the 2nd partial a worthwhile improvement.

These tunings are available for download in two formats:

1. The SAT format
   (you will only be able to ‘open’ these tunings if you have the Piano Librarian Software)
2. The Excel spreadsheet format
   (can be opened and viewed in Microsoft Excel or another Microsoft Excel compatible spreadsheet program)

Ideally these tunings are ‘tweaked’ and modified to fit the piano thru the use of the Double Octave Beat feature (DOB) available on the Sanderson Accu-Tuners III and IV, and the Offset feature which is available on every Sanderson Accu-Tuner.  Of course these tunings can be used without any tweaking or modifying at all, but customizing the tuning to the piano yields truly ideal results.

Customizing Tunings to Fit the Piano:

Until verified, every partial change is a guess.    Errors at the tenor partial change will have a significant effect on the intervals using notes on opposite sides of the partial change.

Tenor Partial Change:

In these tunings the tenor partial change location is between G#2/A2,

The 4th partials is used on notes A2 – A4 above the tenor partial change location, and the 6th partial is used on all the notes below the tenor partial change location  (A0 – G#2).

Look at the settings (contained on the memory tuning) for the notes A2 and, A#2 .   Lets say the setting for A2 is -1.6 and  A#2 is -1.4.   The ‘difference” in cents between these notes is .2 c.   Therefore, a good guess for the tuning of G#2 using the 4th partial would be -1.8 c..    Tune G#2 to that setting.    ( G#4  @ -1.8 )

Now that G#2 is correctly tuned, go back into the MEMory mode of the SAT and see if the memory tuning has the correct placement for G#2 when using the 6th partial.

If the lights are stopped, great!   But if they are not, you need to correct it.   I prefer using an Offset, rather than DOB for this.

Measure the difference between the correctly tuned G#2 and the setting on the memory tuning.     Offset the SAT by that amount.    Leave this offset stored into the SAT when tuning the bass – in this case, all notes using the 6th partial (A0-G#2).

(Again, I prefer using an Offset rather than DOB for this.   Using an offset here is more accurate, and I like having a 0.0  D.O.B. starting point @ G#2.   From this 0.0 starting point it is relatively easy to incrementally add and/or subtract DOB to tailor the tuning to fit the bass of the particular piano being tuned.)

Make sure you remove the offset when tuning the rest of the piano!

A related word here about DOB.    Often, a large Offset (correction ) at the tenor partial change can cause problems because it raises/lowers all the bass notes (using the 6th partial).    This can be easily remedied thru the use of DOB.    A large Offset will sometimes demand a lot of DOB use in the bass.    But fixing the error at the partial change and using DOB to adjust the stretch in the bass will result in a much better sounding bass tuning.  Using DOB to either add or remove stretch from A2 to A1, and then again in the A0-A1 range takes care of it very nicely.

Of course the more closely matched the memory tuning is to the piano being tuned, the better, and will probably require a smaller tenor offset,  as well as less DOB tweaking in the bass.   (You can read more about what DOB does and how it works in the Instruction Manuals for the SAT III or SAT IV).

Treble Partial Change:

The treble partial change is between A4 (4th partial) / A#4 (1st partial or fundamental).

No partial change ‘correction’ is ever needed here since A4 is always A-440 or  0.0 c.

The only partial change in these tunings we need to worry about, is the one in the tenor.

Octave Widths Used in these tunings:

A3/A4:  slightly wide 2:1 octave starting point: -.6 c.
A2/A4:   wide 4:1 octave  starting point:  – 1.6 c.
A1/A2:  slightly wide 6:3 octave (approx 1.0 – 1.5  c.)
A5:   balanced between a slightly wide 2:1 (from A4) and a slightly narrow 4:1 (from A3)
A6:   clean 4:1 double from A4
A7:  is a clean 8:1 triple octave (from A4)
A0 – F#1 or so:  is probably the most varied especially on the smaller scales.

Other Tuning Modifications and Tweaks used to customize the tuning to the piano:

1. adjusting the ‘stretch’ in the bass and the low bass,
2. checking and adjusting the width of the A3/A4 octave,
3. checking and adjusting the width of the A2/A3 octave,
4. checking and adjusting the width of the A2/A4 double octave,
5. checking and adjusting the placement of A5 and A7.

Once ‘ target’ notes are determined, use the Double Octave Beat (DOB)  to fill in the blanks and complete the tuning.

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Do Most “computerized tunings”  over stretch the midrange of the piano?

Contained in the Sanderson AccuTuner’s Instruction Manual (download here) is  Al Sanderson’s ” The Two-Octave (A) Temperament” (Appendix E).  It begins by tuning A4 to A440 or zero cents, and then says to tune A3 as a 4:2 octave (from A4) 1 c. wide. In Step 2 he says to tune A2 from A3 as a 6:3 octave 1 cent wide.

His 3rd step is to measure the width of the A2 -A4 double octave (4:1) and if it is wider than 4 cents, to divide the excess by 3 and narrow both octaves by that amount. (If the double octave is 5.5 cents wide, 5.5 – 4 = 1.5, 1.5 / 3 = .5 ).

The implication here is that a 4c. wide A2/A4 double octave (4:1) is ‘OK’. Also, that a 1c. wide A3/A4 4:2 octave is ‘OK’ too, as is a 1 c. wide A2/A3 6:3 octave. That both of these are fine sounding as long as the 4:1 double octave is not wider than 4 cents.

Listen & Decide.

Next time you are tuning a piano, take a few minutes to do some measuring and listening to the A2/A4 4:1 double octave.

Try tuning this double octave 4 cents wide and see how you like it.   Then tune it 5 cents wide and then  3 cents wide and see how you like it.  Try  2 cents wide, and then 1 cent wide.   Just for fun, tune it clean.  Do this on a number of different sized pianos.   After a  while you will discover your own preference for the width of this double octave.

Over stretching in the mid range when tuning a console, spinet,  or small grand can create problems if minimal beating is a goal.   Generally speaking, I feel these pianos sound better (less beating) when stretched less in this area, not more.

Experienced tuners have all experienced less than great results on certain pianos.

Why is it that doing the exact same routine on a good piano sounds good, but then a couple hours later doing the exact same routine on a different piano,  doesn’t?

Are clean unisons all we really need?

‘Floating Pitch’ implies pitch doesn’t really matter.    The customer won’t be able to ‘tell’.  Or will they?

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A good Tuning routine should produce good results on every piano, every time.

This tuning approach allows total flexibility to make the octaves wider or narrower throughout the tuning as the technician himself prefers, accurately and consistently.   Without any partial change problems.

Now that I know how to make them sound good, I actually like tuning challenging pianos!   Few technicians go to this much trouble to make the short scale pianos sound really good.

Some years ago one of our past PTG presidents wrote in the Journal of a customer’s complaint a few days after his tuning of a challenging spinet piano in a church choir room. His basic response to the music director was the piano was just a bad piano and she shouldn’t expect much out of it.  Even though there is a germ of truth to what he told her, it wasn’t all the piano’s fault it didn’t sound good enough for her when he was finished.

The Music Director at the church knew it was a 40 year old Cable Nelson Spinet – she knew what it was.   She knew it wasn’t a great piano – or even a good piano.    Those pianos require extra skill to get them to sound good.   It is expected of us, and we should be able to tune them so the customer doesn’t complain.

Pitch does matter.   As does fixing partial change problems.   We can make it easier on ourselves by limiting the number of partial changes, by using “friendly” partials,  by locating those partial changes in places that facilitate our measuring and cause the fewest problems, and by getting the ‘stretch’ right and well transitioned throughout all  areas of the piano.  It ALL matters!

Over the past 35 years as a group, we have mostly given our tuning power over to the electronics.   We need to reclaim it, and take it back.    Tuning using only beats or only cents is simply not good enough.    Today’s Tuner/Technician should have a thorough understanding  and working knowledge of both the beats and the cents.

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The tunings contained in these downloads are frequently updated and expanded.

(Downloading tunings is  free, but you will be asked to fill out a short form. A download link will be sent to the email address you provide in the form.)

• ‘Fundies’ tunings SAT format
• ‘Fundies’ tunings Excel format
  

SAT II,  III, &  IV owners with Piano Librarian Software:

Download the tunings in the Piano Librarian format. Once  downloaded,  open the (.sat) file with Piano Librarian and load them into your Accu-Tuner using the MIDI connections on the SAT II or SAT III. (The Piano Librarian Software is sold separately.  Piano Librarian  is included with the purchase of a SAT IV).

SAT I and all others:

Access the tunings by downloading the Excel spreadsheet version of the file. Once downloaded, open the file with Excel and enter them into your SAT I using the manual method described in the  Instruction Manual. It is possible to use these tunings with other electronic tuning devices as well.   Make sure you set the correct partials and cents settings for each note.

Download Sanderson Accu – Tuner Instruction Manuals here.

(Downloading the manual is free, but you will be asked to fill out a short form. A download link will be sent to the email address you provide in the form.)

Accu – Tuner Instruction Manuals

• Accu–Tuner I & II
• Accu–Tuner III
• Accu-Tuner IV