Hi all,  I have three reproducing grand pianos in my basement and have
owned reproducing pianos since about 1967.  I have been an associate
member of the Piano Technicians Guild (PTG) for many years and I am a
retired Mechanical Engineer knowledgeable about design and function of
things like pianos.

I have whole-house control of humidity which is the best approach but
not all homes are suitable for this due to house design and heating
system installations.  The main reason for humidity control is to keep
a piano in tune since the pitch of the piano will go up and down in
step with humidity and these changes will cause the piano strings to go
out of tune with one another.

This problem is due to a number of reasons, some of which are (a) the
tuning pins may lose torque due to the expansion and contraction of the
pin block, and (b) the sound board will rise and fall with humidity
unevenly from bass to treble resulting in the sections of the piano to
be out of tune with one another, etc., and this may vary to a greater
or lesser extent as a function of how often the piano is tuned as well
as the ability of the tuner to properly set the tuning pins.

Any Registered Piano Technician (RPT) of the Piano Technicians Guild
(I am not an RPT and I do not tune pianos) should recommend the
installation of a good humidity control system to help with this
problem.

If you love your piano and its function you should have an RPT or at
least an Associate Member of the PTG to tune and care for your piano
because they are generally in contact with other RPTs discussing
current and new technologies as applied to piano care.

Allen E. Ford

 [ The discussion thread is about keeping the player system working
 [ in a dry climate, such as where I live.  My player piano is simply
 [ a tool I use to audition piano rolls; it's nothing exotic.  If the
 [ player system won't work during the winter then tuning my piano
 [ is a waste of money.  Functionality, not temperament, is my
 [ justification for applying humidity control measures.  -- Robbie