[CAUT] Interesting boo-boo

[Jeff Tanner]

I'm not even sure if I want to tell this.  It's a little embarrassing, 
but had very interesting results.

Yesterday, after work, I tuned a Kimball Viennese Grand - one of those 
that was present at the 1984 Olympics gig.  My tuning record had 
evidently been removed for some reason or another, so I had to 
remeasure the SAT numbers.  Well, I guess due to the arrangement of the 
plate struts being in a different location than I'm accustomed to and I 
didn't pay very close attention, or perhaps because this was a 5 
o'clock tuning after an already taxing day, or I really don't know what 
it was, but by accident, I measured C5, rather than C6.

I didn't realize I had done it until I had tuned all the way up to C5.  
The only reason I noticed it then, was that I had had to tap the bridge 
pin to eliminate the false beat so I could measure the string, and I 
realized then, at that point that it was C5 that I had measured for the 
FAC rather than C6.

Hmm.  It worked anyway.  The stretch for C (at C5) was something like 
7.8, which was in line with the other two measurements, so no warning 
bells had gone off.  All the octaves sounded very clean, and there 
didn't seem to be any problem with intervals anywhere.  The client was 
due for choir rehearsal at 6:30, so I was pressed for time, and decided 
to keep going and finish, rather than start completely over.  Piano 
sounded great, maybe even better than I remember previous tunings 
sounding.

I wonder what other accidents might be interesting to experiment with.

That's a very good piano by the way.  Wish more Kimballs in my client 
base were like it.

Speaking of tuning records, do any of you use the PTG tuning records?  
Do you find that clients apparently don't like them and they're rarely 
there when you go back?  Is it because they are so large?

Jeff



Jeff Tanner, RPT
School Of Music
University of South Carolina