String breakage (was Re: I Raise the pitch...)

[Keith A. McGavern]

>...I have no doubt at all that this technique has saved me
>numerous broken strings over the years. Note that I still employ this
>technique on older, neglected instruments...
>
>Les Smith
>lessmith@buffnet.net

and

>Yep, I always tap it down before bringing it up and your right
>that has helped...
>
>David ilvedson, RPT
>ilvey@a.crl.com

and

>Also, by knocking every note flat as a first move, one is treating all
>strings uniformly, which I think helps stability later.
>
>The trick is to move them flat by the tiniest possible amount, also for
>stability..
..>
>Susan Kline
>skline@proaxis.com

and

>...I too break flat before raising to pitch, especially on pianos that need
>a pitch raise.  Maybe it only makes me feel better, but it seems to
>reduce breakage...
>
>Ed Carwithen
>carwite@eosc.osshe.edu

and

>I don't know if it means anything to you, but I keep good records and my
>string breaking average went from one in 15 pitch raises to one in 27.
>In my mind that is a worthwhile change!
>
>Warren D. Fisher
>fish@communique.net

Dear Les, David, Susan, Ed, Warren, List,

Thus far, all the evidences would seem to indicate this is the way to go.
=46or some odd reason I don't recall doing this at all in my practice of
pitch raises, even on older neglected uprights.  Mind you, not that I don't
initially feel a little queazy on those older neglected pianos.  Kind of
like those "butterflies in the stomach before a performance" syndrome.

Rather I use the pitch raising features (relatively speaking, I do make
inner modifications depending on the gut feeling of the individual
situation) in the Accu-Tuner.  Meaning, I use the overpull concept to
hopefully land as closely as possible to the desired pitch for each note.
Rarely, do I ever stop at A440, though I must admit, I seem to be coming
more timid as time passes, which is somewhat disconcerting.

So I guess my way of thinking is if I push the note flat, I would be
disturbing the accuracy of the pitch raising feature in the Accu-Tuner plus
taking longer in the pitch raise for the added physical actions of lowering
before raising.

Also, Warren's record keeping obviously speaks for itself.  Warren, is
there some kind of criteria you use in this record keeping, like all pianos
you pitch raise, regardless of age or condition, or just the ones you
determine are neglected, ones that have a certain degree of flatness, etc?

Sincerely,

Keith A. McGavern
kam544@ionet.net
Registered Piano Technician
Oklahoma Chapter 731
Piano Technicians Guild
Oklahoma Baptist University
Shawnee, Oklahoma, USA