Seeking Piano Tuner

[marjaah88]

Hey burners!

Our camp this year is creating a WW2 black and white piano bar. Does anyone have any advice or know of anyone who tunes pianos on the playa?

HALLLPPP

thanks!

[Captain Goddammit]

I can tune a fish... but not a piano...

Thank you thank you ladies and gentlemen, I'll be here all week.

[graidawg]

if you find one refer him (or her) to barbie death camp (doc pyro ) i know we want one too

[trilobyte]

Good news, you've got plenty of time to look it up on the internet and learn how to do it before you leave for the playa.

[theCryptofishist]

*a two-chambered heart breaks a little more...*

[FIGJAM]

That responce was a little half-hearted.

[unjonharley]

I can tune a fish... but not a piano...

Thank you thank you ladies and gentlemen, I'll be here all week.

The Cap. dropped that on us.. Just for the halibut..

ba ba boom

[unjonharley]

Elliot brought pianos one year.. Ask Him..

I have subbed to tuners over the years.. They all were a strange lot..

Or put thumb tacks on the hammers.. In how to make a rinky tink, After that tuning is not worth it..

How many of you know what a Rinky Tink piano is

[FIGJAM]

[media]

[Canoe]

Temperature & humidity swings are what usually kills pianos, tuning slides or splitting/cracking of peg boards and sound boards.
That, and physically stressing it during transport, twisting, uneven loads, etc.. Lift gate truck is really useful, and a crew who will ensure it's lifted evenly, sitting on a dolly evenly, and sitting evenly on the gate before lifting. And a good one-piece floor for the piano wheels to sit on on-playa, ensuring it is evenly supported at rest too.
And you've got playa dust for the hammers and felts.

Bringing one from the coast would be the roughest on it. Bringing one from nearby, like Reno, would mean it's as accustomed to low humidity as you're likely to find?

So, is it a piece of junk you want to have playable, or something nice that you want concert quality sound & tuning on-playa?
Do you expect to have a fully working tunable piano return to defaultia with its nice sound, or is it a one-time use sacrificial lamb?

If you have power, I'd be inclined to suggest an electronic piano, except that I'd hate to see what playa dust would do the the circuit boards and key sensors.

I have a CP-80, but no way I'd take even that anywhere near the playa.

[FIGJAM]

[media]

[some seeing eye]

Acoustic pianos are dying out. http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2012/0 ... IANOS.html I know it's trendy to destroy them on camera. But it is really sad.

With electronic tuners, piano tuning is more accessible than ever. It's time consuming and not necessarily something you want to hear. I would go for an electronic piano on playa.

[unjonharley]

I can not carry a tune over a hill in a basket with a lid..

This thread is interesting.. Be checking Crag's List for electric pianos.. I could put it at the street in camp.. Some one can come along and play a while.. They don't take much wattage so a small inverter would be all that's needed..

[some seeing eye]

To the OP. Through movers, craigslist or piano stores, you might find a piano case - no mechanism and no harp. The harp is often the heaviest part. Then build an electronic piano into the case, you could even add speakers and digital amps inside, and a screen for electronic sheet music.

[marjaah88]

Bringing an electric piano to the playa may be a lot easier but unfortunately it would ruin our theme. Plus it would cost a lot to find an up right electric piano. Keyboards are everywhere but they were not around in the 40s. Also keyboards sounds shitty as hell and would look stupid in a black and white ww2 piano bar.

Most of our power is going to towards a big ass 8 byte space invader, lights, and 3 projectors running images from the 30s-50s inside the bar as well.

Interestingly enough I was able to snag a piano from the 40s that's COMPLETELY sealed up, which makes it a bit more durable when it comes to taking the conditions on the playa.

I'll probably get it tuned here in LA and take and electric tuner with me so I can make minor adjustments to the sound throughout the week. This is the piano

[theCryptofishist]

Dude, there's a scary alien living inside your piano...

[marjaah88]

To the OP. Through movers, craigslist or piano stores, you might find a piano case - no mechanism and no harp. The harp is often the heaviest part. Then build an electronic piano into the case, you could even add speakers and digital amps inside, and a screen for electronic sheet music.

That's a great idea, however, it's always been a dream of one of my campmates to play Inner Cities at burning man and that can't happen on an electric piano

[marjaah88]

Dude, there's a scary alien living inside your piano...

nnaaaaaahhhhh she's cute. i'm keeping her.

[FIGJAM]

Careful!

The cute one's can be the scariest!

[some seeing eye]

The action on electronic keyboards has improved. What is the attraction to an acoustic piano?

As has been said, the playa eats pianos for breakfast and you could easily crack the soundboard just through environmental extremes.

To me the piano and cello are the most expressive instruments. So it would be lovely to hear piano music on playa, but you might be competing with the DJ next door. Best with the project in any event.

[theCryptofishist]

Just want to point out that adherence to some sort of artistic vision may lead us to do things that others find senseless, and that (apart from fuel cost) old-fashioned pianos are free. I'm much more worried that the alien will suck the brains from his head.

[marjaah88]

[Canoe]

Bringing an electric piano to the playa may be a lot easier but unfortunately it would ruin our theme. Plus it would cost a lot to find an up right electric piano. Keyboards are everywhere but they were not around in the 40s. Also keyboards sounds shitty as hell and would look stupid in a black and white ww2 piano bar.

There's a big difference between an electric piano and an electronic piano. I've played a number of modern electronic pianos that have a greatly superior action to many many acoustics, and with each note individually sampled from a model M, Model L, Bösendorfer, etc., there are many great voices available to choose from, with superior sound to most upright acoustics, let alone a cheap, abused or worn out acoustic. Some have built-in amp&speakers that sound rather good, particularly the console models. They use little power.

Getting a piano case should be very easy. So many acoustic pianos are available for free right now, some are low-end and others are simply at their end-of-life and it isn't worth paying someone to refurbish it to a tolerable, let alone proper playing condition. Then mount a suitable electronic piano into the case. Decorate it however you wish. If you remove the harp, please first de-tension the strings each a bit at a time before unbolting the harp from the frame.

Interestingly enough I was able to snag a piano from the 40s that's COMPLETELY sealed up, which makes it a bit more durable when it comes to taking the conditions on the playa...

I'll bite.
As I write this, LA is 80F and 66% humidity. Gerlach is showing 99F and 14%. Every piano that I've pulled the action out and lifted the keys, has an amazing selection of dust, particles and artifacts that have dropped through between the keys (old coins & hair pins are a novelty). Given how sealed wooden furniture splits, let alone a piano under tension, could you explain how this "completely sealed up" piano is more durable?

That said,...

I'll probably get it tuned here in LA and take and electric tuner with me so I can make minor adjustments to the sound throughout the week.

If you go with an acoustic.

• Do you know if the piano is tunable yet? (condition of pegboard, pins, strings)
• You'll need to know what frequencies to set the tuner to (and if the tuner doesn't have temperament settings for piano tuning).
  • Was it last tuned to concert pitch or has it been lowered to accommodate slipping pins.
  • What temperament is it tuned with? Or do you just care that it's close enough and that the strings on each note match.
• Have you tuned a piano before?
  • Do you have a tuning hammer, mutes & felt?
  • Do you know how to set a tuning pin so it holds (instead of changing when played) and doesn't damage the pegboard.

If you want to have a properly tuned sound on-playa, I'd suggest you get the piano tuned asap. Both see if it can be tuned (or to which pitch) and to help it settle in to being in-tune and to see if it holds a tuning (or holds it good enough for your purposes). If you haven't tuned before, get someone to show you how to use a tuning hammer to set a pin (don't get confused by trying to read about this, get someone to show you the right way from the start). Then you can keep resetting any strings that slip (reset to match the other strings on that note - if you're a novice don't try to reset the temperament if all three strings slip), to see if they'll adjust to staying at their proper tension. If it slips really bad, and proper tuning matters, get it properly tuned again. Hopefully the piano isn't too far off right now, and it won't resist going into tune too much.

If proper tuning doesn't matter, then just get it tuned, learn how to set a pin, and then just keep the three strings per note together.

[Dr. Pyro]

Barbie Death Camp absolutely needs a piano tuner. And we'll throw in all the wine you can drink after the job is finished!

[unjonharley]

I would like to see a sealed piano..

I could disassemble clean and reassemble a smoke damaged piano in 24 work hours. Longer if I had to refinish the varnished surfaces..

Disassemble to the ground/bench.. Sand and strap all raw woods.. Dry clean all felt.. ultrasound the wires.. Each harp is finished in god only knows.. Figure out how to clean the harp.. Reassemble while inspecting each part.. Then sub to the tuner.. Never tell him what I did..

This was back when My eye sight was almost gone.. Learned to do things by memory.. And placing each part on the bridge of my nose to see it.. Made my own tools for cleaning the raw wood.. They had to be different shapes. Broken glass was the best.. Just break another when one got dull.

If you wanted to die young.. Move something on my bench.. Play opera loud to keep people out..

Did the same with old style TV's.. The sub (TV teck)walked in one day when I had TV guts in the sink.. I thought he was going to shit and fall in it.. Didn't hurt 'em any.. just hang them in the drying room for three day and put them back together..Had to watch out for the discharge tho.. 50 000 volts.. maybe that's whats wrong with me?

[Elorrum]

I have a good ear, and could tune individuals gone astray relative to their neighbors, but I am not a piano tuner. A basic tuning lever runs around 40 dollars. An inexpensive chromatic electronic tuner, 40 dollar range. A hack job with good intentions is the best I can offer. (no guarantees it won't be worse than when I started.)

[Canoe]

...I could disassemble clean and reassemble a smoke damaged piano in 24 work hours. ... ultrasound the wires...

wow
and in 24 hours

(hijack warning)
> ultrasound the wires
This is new to me. Details?

[unjonharley]

...I could disassemble clean and reassemble a smoke damaged piano in 24 work hours. ... ultrasound the wires...

wow
and in 24 hours

(hijack warning)
> ultrasound the wires
This is new to me. Details?

Sorry, ultrasonic bath.

[Canoe]

Special fluid?

[unjonharley]

Special fluid?

Got it from a jewelry shop supplier. Used for brass and copper so there would not be any chemical reaction between the wire and solution..