Keys not perfectly in tune

[BiG-e]

Hello piano forumers,

My piano is an Alex Steinbach upright (an Australian piano make), about 12 years old.

I had my piano tuned for the first time (since we bought it new) back in March this year (I know, it's terrible, but we were none the wiser). After that tuning I noticed  that the G, A and B keys immediately below middle C didn't sound entirely *in tune*. By this I mean that the two strings that combine to make the sound for each key do not sound like they are at the same pitch together for each of the three keys. Today I had a 3 month tuning (on recommendation by the tuner), hoping that the problem would be fixed. However it wasn't. I pointed this out to the tuner and he mentioned that most pianos are like that. I tend not to believe him.

Could someone please clarify this?

Thanks!!

[donjuan]

It's really dangerous to leave a piano untuned for such a long time.  I cant imagine how bad it must have sounded after 12 years of no tuning!  The tuner recommeded 3 month tunings because the strings are not used to the tension after such a long period of 12 years.  He probably only tuned it slightly, and would come back in three months, tune it a little more, etc..

he cant tune it perfectly all the way all at once, or the strings will break, and you will have a real mess on your hands.

If it were my situation, I would look for a new piano, but in your situation, the best thing you can do is trust your technician, and accept the fact that your piano will not sound very good for a long time. Pianos start going out of tune as soon as the tuner finishes tightening the pins.  Yours will go out faster than others because it has been so long.

Best Wishes,
donjuan

[BiG-e]

Thanks for the reply!  

Prior to the first tuning, I really couldn't tell it was out of tune. But after the tuning, the sound sparkled and it generally felt better to play as though the keys were more even.

And I was always wondering why when I was younger, my piano always felt and sounded different to my teacher's piano and the pianos I used during exams...

[donjuan]

Yeah, that's another thing- You will get used to the sound of an out of tune piano, and will not see reason to get it tuned.  I had this yamaha upright that went 5 years without being tuned.  I thought it sounded fine, you know- just like the recordings..  Until my dad wanted to make a recording of me playing it.  On the recording, it sounded like an old honky tonk, but in reality I thought it sounded fine.  We had the technician come in and sort of half tune it like you had, and we ended up just buying a new piano.

donjuan