[CAUT] Steinway Upright tuning

[Jeff Tanner]

On Aug 16, 2007, at 11:15 AM, Don Mannino wrote:

> Joe,
>
> I'll offer a different approach from some of the others.  I used to  
> tune
> a few of these, and once I sort of got a handle on the tuning  
> technique,
> they didn't bother me much after that.
>
> I found these pianos to be exceptionally stable, and once I got
> comfortable with this tuning method, I had no complaints with them.
>
> I have been told that recent revisions in these models have made them
> much less springy with less friction as well.  I haven't tuned any new
> ones, though.
>
> Don Mannino

Ditto.  I don't know about all that analysis stuff ya'll are spending  
time writing, though.  You just tune the things and they stay there.   
Don't expect them to sound like Yamahas or Kawais because they are  
not.  They are what they are.  People who like them, love them.  I  
really don't share or understand the disdain I hear from so many  
techs about them.

I sort of cut my teeth tuning 1098s (I've always called them 45s,  
because that is what is stamped on the pinblock) as I was developing  
my tuning skills as a student in college.  And now I have quite a few  
private customers with Steinway verticals, and they might just be my  
most loyal customers.  Except for when they were new, and the pins  
were so freaking tight you thought you were going to turn the piano  
over before the pin moved in the block, I really have never thought  
of the tuning technique as being that much different than any other  
piano.  Maybe it's because nobody told me when I was learning that  
they were no fun to tune, so I didn't know any better.  Perhaps  
Yamahas and Kawais being so easy to tune in the earlier years spoils  
a young tuner.  But, IMO, if you'll develop technique for tuning 45s,  
your technique for any other piano will be superior.

1098s all feel similar, but like anything else, each one has its own  
quirks.  So, there is no one size fits all.  The bass feels different  
from the tenor which feels different from the treble.  But what I  
think is the fastest way to develop a feel for tuning a 1098 is to do  
a fast one pass tuning, and then go back over and clean it up after  
you've gotten a feel for the pins.  I do normally hold the hammer  
somewhere around 12:00, but will move it around depending on what  
seems to be giving the best results.  One thing I DO do is to give  
the hammer a push and pull back and forth AFTER I've got the pin  
where I want it to go to be sure the flex is out of the pin, but that  
is my standard technique (maybe it came from learning on 1098s?)  You  
just have to get a feel for that piano, and there is no way to really  
describe it.  Don't get too wrapped up with letting the false beats  
bother you.  I know they don't sound so hot while you're tuning, but  
once you close the cabinet, they really don't sound half bad.

On Aug 16, 2007, at 2:05 PM, Douglas Wood wrote:
> The 5th and 6th octave sound that is so "funky" in tuning work  
> actually contributes to the musicality of the instrument, if one is  
> interested primarily in tone color range.

I think I agree with that very much.

I agree with Don and Doug, once you get a feel for how to tune them,  
I find them to be exceptionally stable.  We keep one in my shop as a  
"floater" for impromptu performances, and it holds tune really,  
really well.  Dampp-Chaser systems WILL improve the stability in  
unstable settings, but if you want the full system, you have to  
install the backside system.  I did one in a real roller coaster  
environment, and that piano became rock solid.

On Aug 16, 2007, at 6:36 AM, Jon Page wrote:
> The life is too short to waste time for the sake of a brand name.

Except they last so long.  The 5 we have here at SC are from  
1957-1962 - the oldest verticals in the inventory by over 10 years.   
I would rather have 40 more just like them than the 25 Baldwin  
Hamiltons and 15 Baldwin 6000s we have, including the 30 newer ones  
(1995).  They are just workhorses I haven't seen equal to in that  
regard, regardless of who's name is on the fallboard.

Granted, I haven't seen it all.
Jeff

Jeff Tanner, RPT
University of South Carolina



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