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The poor spinet piano - often disparaged by players and tuners alike.
PSO - piano shaped object
POS - piece of ....?

I kindof like getting new spinet clients - most of the time, I'm the first tech to touch it in years, so it is easy to make a huge improvement with just a standard 60-75 minute appointment. I'll admit that I don't much like dealing with repairs to these, but tuning and some voicing can usually make them playable instruments.

No added stress for me - ETD pitchraise, followed with a second pass to settle as much as can be expected in one visit. Provided an interesting change from the Steinway B that ended my day and the Baldwin 243 that began..

And the check clears just as well as a check from tuning one of those bigger pianos!

Here's today's - Wurli spinet, (40-80 cents flat to start) the lawn/bush trimmers must've downloaded my gps data, they found me just as I started- they were in full force out there! Gone by the time I was into the second pass. With all this ETD discussion, my feeling is that the stretch is equal in importance to the temperament - especially when dealing with challenging scales!. I've used a lot of alternate temperaments over the years, but am back to ET most of the time with this 12ths inspired stretch. I look forward to new developments that can make these sound even more musical (especially down into the bass)... While not much when compared to a bigger piano, this grandma was thrilled with the opportunity to start playing the piano that recently landed in her living room... And I have a new 'repeat' client!



Ron Koval

An ETD can actually make tuning these a pleasant experience for both customer and tuner. Thanks Ron for all that you share!

Thanks for sharing Ron! Like you, I too have come to appreciate the spinets. As you said, the pay is just as good as other pianos. In fact sometimes better. I usually charge extra for a pitch correction and people are happy to pay it. I feel especially good when no strings break! I sometimes joke with people (when the piano is 90 cents flat) that my job will be easy because anything I do will sound fabulous (compared to what it is)!

I generally do not like working on spinets, because they seem to be the most often neglected
type of piano, as they are usually owned by casual players who are not very serious about their
music.

However, I will agree that they are among the easiest pianos to make the largest improvements
in sound to. There's nothing like doing a pitch raise on a spinet that hasn't been tuned in decades!

But even when you tune them up, the tone is usually quite bad, even with some voicing done.

I would say the Baldwin pianos were amount the best made of the spinets, but only if they were
in controlled environments, and tuned at least somewhat regularly.

These days I will often tune a spinet using EBVT. It makes it sound better, particularly in the keys where most people who own them are likely to play.

Pwg

I have been following this thread with interest as I happen to own a spinet... My question is is there any good way to tell when you are getting the "oh another spinet piano player" treatment? am I allowed to know? I do actually play demanding works on my piano, and if I can get more out of it that would be great, as I am blocked by both my parents and my wallet from upgrading. I am trying to elarn how to tune it my self but I do not have much time, and I do not want to learn it poorly.

Xenondi - Are you concerned that piano tuners are looking down on you because you play a spinet? Or that the tuning won't be very good because it's a spinet? Let me know if I'm hearing you right. If I am right, I certainly hope you don't get that kind of treatment. It's just that, from a piano tuners point of view, you can only get so much out of spinet. I compare them to cars. A spinet is an economy car. You can't expect it to drive like a (insert your luxury car of choice here). So, we do the best we can, try to not beat ourselves up that we should have made it sound better, and move on. At least that's what I do.

The satisfaction comes when you take a spinet that's 50+ cents flat, get it up to pitch (without breaking strings) and it actually acts like it will stay up to pitch for a while. Yippee!

Here is something to try when you want to get more music out of a spinet....

There have existed different keyboard instruments through time - harpsichord, clavichord, fortepiano, uprights, grands, spinets and a variety of experimental designs. If you approach playing the spinet as though it was a piano from an earlier time - say a fortepiano, it is possible to coax out musical sounds. Often when we approach playing 'demanding' works on a spinet to prepare for playing on a bigger instrument, we drive the volume much beyond where the spinet is capable of producing appropriate tone. This is especially evident in the lower tenor and bass - where the design compromises are extreme.

Try playing more delicately - especially in the bass! Just a touch down there can allow the pitches to match what is going on above without overdriving the strings to an ugly sound. Some action work may need to be scheduled to allow for a true controllable pp. While it is possible to play much louder in the midrange and treble, it may take some time to develop the touch to control these smaller instruments to produce a musical sound.

Ron Koval

I really do not care if I get looked down on, as long as I can practice well that will do the speaking for me. My concern was that I might not be getting the best tuning as it is not viewed as worth the time. But you do raise the valid point that it might not even be worth the time actually going from say a 99% perfect tuning to 100%

I'm glad they made all those spinets. I tune many of them. Folks buy them on Craigslist for $500 or less, and call me to raise the pitch. Money in the bank, and I can make them sound pretty good after a couple of visits.

A spinet is what it is...the most compromise that can be fit into an 88 note case. Some are much better than others, with REAL thought put into it. Others are slapped together by the manufacturer (that has little regard for quality) to match a price point.

All reputable techs are going to do the best they can with your piano. Especially if they know you can play. I have several clients who play extremely well on their little spinets and are surprisingly (to me) happy with them.


Pwg

I prefer my spinets creamed.

One client who is a concert pianist (and retired brain surgeon) I was shocked to learn that he started out (and progressed quite well) on a little Knabe console. Today he makes his Bosendorfer sing.

Pwg

I treat all pianos with dignity, including spinets. They can be regulated to where they will play quite well. A mild Well Temperament does wonders with the sound. They are ideal for playing early 18th Century music such as the easier Bach, Sonatinas from every composer, Mozart and early Beethoven. They actually yield a sound that is appropriate for the kind of music that it is. They are equally well suited to playing the simpler kinds of popular music.

Many calculated electronic tuning programs may tune the Bass too sharp but if the technician knows how to manipulate the program or you are lucky enough to get a technician who tunes by ear, you can get quite a nice sound, like the one that Ron demonstrated.

There are some talented musicians who really cannot afford any more or better than what they have. They deserve to have whichever instrument they have perform as best it reasonably can.

In Carole King's memoir, she said the hits she wrote with her husband, the late Gerry Goffin, were written on an Acrosonic.

A significant portion of music I have written was done on a 73 note Wurlitzer spinet. WHEN IN TUNE it actually sounded quite nice (required a souped up DC system to keep it reasonably good) tuned in Thomas Young' s 1799 rules according to personal taste...I can honestly say I really liked that piano (except that I really need 88 keys).

It was on that piano that I came to appreciate certain UT's.

I have no negative feelings about spinet (except for the really badly made ones).

Pwg

Interesting. Would you say that a carefully tuned UT is able to counter the increased iH in the bass of a spinet, especially played gently, as compared to a larger piano? Or is this just my ignorance being expressed?

I couldn't comment on the IH effect (although I doubt it). I simply like the VERY slow beating intervals in the simpler keys. It complements the way I play and compose.

Pwg

Pwg[/quote]
Interesting. Would you say that a carefully tuned UT is able to counter the increased iH in the bass of a spinet, especially played gently, as compared to a larger piano? Or is this just my ignorance being expressed?
[/quote]

It was quickly recognized back in the late 80's that short and/or poorly scaled pianos "eat" Well Temperament. That means that you can get more of the harmonious sounds while the harsh sounds are diminished. I would never tune a spinet any other way.

By the way, Liberace was known to have an Acrosonic in his dressing room to warm up on. He loved all of his pianos, including that one.

In my limited spinet experience UT indeed seems to benefit them a lot. Another thing I noted is that tuning with ETD and offsets did not work at all. I have to tune the UT (a Young-like temperament) by ear. On bigger pianos ETD + offsets work fine.

Kees