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 As a musician I can personally attribute the performance of my new concert grand piano to the Dampp-Chaser system. When I received delivery of my "dream piano" in 2002 I waited before installing the system to see how long it would take for the piano to show signs of moisture and/or swelling......I didn't have to wait long. In less than two months the dampers were hanging up and some keys were sticking. Right away I installed the system and to this day my piano performs with ease. When you raise the lid it still looks like it just arrived from the factory! 
John-Paul Jackson
Professional Pianist & Piano Technician
Southern California |
I wanted to thank you for recommending Dampp-Chaser. My 40 year old Steinway was showing the effects of age and carelessness from a previous owner. Despite the wonderful tuning performed by Ken, the piano was not holding a tune after 2 weeks. Ken repaired the cracks in the sound board and replaced a few strings. I was getting frustrated with, what seemed futile attempts, of ever achieving a quality sound. Then he suggested a humidifier as the piano is next to a heating vent. Wow! What a difference! The humidifier has extended the need for constant tuning and has improved the overall quality of the sound. So what’s better than roses on a piano or tulips on a organ? Dampp-Chaser restores the moisture and ageless beauty your instrument deserves. I did and I’ve never been happier.
Ashley Morin
Pianist
Whitehouse Station, NJ |
I've had a Dampp-Chaser Piano Life Saver System in my Steinway M since September 2008. The tuning is more stable, and I no longer need that noisy dehumidifier I used to run in the living room. My piano tuner tells me it's staying at pitch better and he's not having to raise or lower the whole instrument as much seasonally. I use this piano in many of my recordings, so it's important for it to be in top shape.
Richard Shulman
Professional Pianist and Composer
www.richheartmusic.com |
Over the past 5 years, the System has stabilized the pitch and reduced the number of tunings required by my grand and upright.
Ellen Berry
Piano Educator
Ontario, Canada
With the Piano Life Saver protecting my grand (a 1906 Knabe 7'11"), it will still be the treat for someone else in another 100 years.
John Craig
Professional Pianist, "Swimming with Nancy" |
Thanks so much for installing my "Dampp-Chaser." The results have been fabulous! My piano now stays in tune, even through the season changes. It not only saved me some money for tunings, but it also has saved me the aggravation of having to listen to out-of-tune unisons and octaves!
Linda Anderson
Piano Educator
Ann Arbor, MI |
As a piano player with a sensitive ear, I need my piano to sound its best or I don't enjoy playing it. Here in Minnesota where we have extremes in high and low humidity during the course of the year, the Piano Life Saver System does a great job of keeping my piano stable throughout the year. As a result, my piano stays in tune much better from one tuning to the next, and I know it's protected against the harsh climate changes we experience. I highly recommend this product for any piano that has a changing humidity environment.
Bruce Genck, RPT
Pianist & Piano Technician
St. Louis Park, MN |
For over a decade, I cared for the pianos at a Los Angeles-area college. Twenty of their fifty pianos were in one big room. Invariably, we would find them all 15 cents sharp in the summer (when RH was as high as 70%) and 15 cents flat in the winter (when RH was as low as 20%). Major tuning hassles, needless to say. I campaigned for years to install humidity control systems in at least the 20 pianos in the practice room. I finally got the green light and installed them in all the pianos.
The seasonal pitch swings were immediately reduced from 15 cents sharp (in the summer) and 15 cents flat (in the winter) to 3 cents sharp & 3 cents flat. . . . Then, a year later someone accidentally unplugged one of the units. THAT piano was 15 cents sharp while all 19 other pianos were only 3 cents sharp. A pretty convincing demonstration of the system's efficacy!
Jim Wilson. RPT
Piano Technician
Sherman Oaks, CA |
As the KAWAI distributor for a large territory we have pianos being sold into a wide variety of climates. We encourage every new owner to install the system and a good number of buyers see the benefits and follow our advice.
What we see is that the pianos with the Piano Life Saver installed fare better than those without. It's noticeable in terms of tuning stability but almost more importantly there is a definite enhancement of tone in the pianos functioning at optimum relative humidity. They are not only more stable in their tone but simply sound better. We had one senior student who bought from us and was continually breaking strings. After we fitted a Life Saver this problem was significantly reduced, as was the tuning stability.
We have also kept a performance piano in our previous showrooms where we ran a concert series. The space was in a loft that suffered extremes of temperature and humidity. We installed a Life Saver on the piano and once we got it stable it remained stable despite the extreme conditions. We have also used the system successfully in a piano at a show which was in a huge and erratically air conditioned space. The piano held its tuning and the tone was excellent.
I really believe that anyone who owns a piano, regardless of its age, should have a Piano Life Saver as a matter of course; it's a fantastic product.
Ian Burgess-Simpson
Piano Distributor
Cape Town, South Africa |
As a professional pianist and a full time professional piano tuner, I wouldn't be without a Dampp Chaser on my Baldwin grand piano. Keeping the piano at A440 and the unisons, octaves, and other intervals at their proper width is extremely important to me. The Dampp Chaser does that and gives me great satisfaction when I'm playing. In Minnesota, we go from extremely dry winters to extremely humid summers. It would be impossible to keep our home at 42% relative humidity year round. The system also keeps the action playing at its best by controlling humidity changes. I wouldn't be without one!
Bob Clough
Professional Pianist & Piano Technician
Minneapolis, MN |
I have a full system on my rebuilt 1926 Vose & Sons small grand. This system really helps hold the pitch, here in Virginia we get 0 to 100 degree weather so I am confident the wood in my piano is protected. The tuning pin torque is fairly constant year round, not looser in the winter months. As a technician that has installed a number of systems I haven't had any complaints from my customers of the system not doing what it was supposed to do. I also want to say how pleased I am with your customer service, if I have any technical questions or need a replacement part because of a warranty issue your response is excellent.
Kevin Shipe, RPT
Pianist & Piano Technician
Fredericksburg,VA |
I have a Dampp Chaser system on my Steinway grand which keeps the piano near pitch year round and wards off the effects of seasonal changes in humidity. I work on other peoples pianos all day so I don't service my piano as often as I should and I feel much better knowing the system is keeping my piano in the safe zone. I recommend the system to all my customers.
James Baker, RPT
Pianist & Piano Technician
Matthews, NC |
I've had a system in my piano for over 30 years and the reason I put it in is that I wanted to protect the piano from cracking and rusting but also to keep it in tune all the time between tunings. Even though I don't have to pay someone to tune my piano, I really don't want to tune anymore than necessary. With the system in the piano I really don't have to tune it more than once or twice a year and yet it always sounds good. It's a great investment and insurance policy for my piano.
Wally Meissner. RPT
Pianist & Piano Technician
Eden Prairie, MN |
My piano began its life at a local university as a part of a package of pianos I arranged for them to buy. Two of the Sohmer upright pianos developed cracks in the sound boards so Sohmer replaced them. I purchased the two pianos and placed one in a private school with the stipulation a Dampp-Chaser must be installed. That unit is still in service and has kept that piano free from any further damage. It is one of their best pianos to this day. My piano likewise has a cracked soundboard but the D-C checked the situation and has given me years of trouble free service and enjoyment.
Jim Birch. RPT
Pianist & Piano Technician
Bethel, CT |
My technician felt I should protect my newly rebuilt 1904 Heintzman full upright with a Piano Life Saver System when I bought it 10 years ago, so I followed his advice. Not only was I pleased to find it easy to maintain, but the piano has always stayed in tune well, and I attribute it to the system. We have high humidity in the summer and often very cold winters here in Ontario, so I feel confident that those big changes are not as damaging to my piano as they would otherwise be. I urge anyone with a fine piano to invest in a Piano Life Saver System.
Anne Francis, RPT
Pianist and Piano Technician
Ontario, Canada |
I would like to share a personal experience with the Piano Life Saver system and a Yamaha C5 (6’6”) that I tune and play regularly at a local recording studio. The studio is a state of the art facility with all the latest equipment as well as some hard to find vintage items as well. The climate control system that is installed in the building is capable of handling temperature as well as humidity levels for each individual room. Even with the sophisticated climate control system in the studio, the pianos intonation would fluctuate greatly depending on the season and even some times the day of the week. Additionally the tuning would become unstable in some areas of the piano and not in others. This was most notable in the area from C5-G6 which is an important speaking range of the piano. After the installation of a complete Piano Life Saver system all of these quirky intonation fluctuations have disappeared. The studio and all the musicians including myself are very happy with the pianos tuning stability and it has also made my job as a tuner more enjoyable and predictable each time I am there. I attribute this completely to the installation of the Dampp-Chaser system and would recommend it for any piano.
Shane Owenby
Pianist & Piano Technician
Weaverville, NC |
I am an amateur pianist as well as a piano technician. I find that all the pianos that I've installed Dampp-Chasers in are the most stable pianos to service. I don't get calls for action problems like I do with non D-C pianos and I never have to do a pitch adjustment. I find that grand pianos need the Undercover to have the System work best.
Bob Rustigian
Pianist & Piano Technician
Rocky Hill, CT |
