advice??

[Al Jeschke]

>Thanks Les for the information.  I lowered it yesterday, but only to A 440.
> I will check in a week or so, and maybe lower it at that time to 435.
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>At 11:02 PM 12/19/97 -0500, you wrote:
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>>On Fri, 19 Dec 1997, Edward Carwithen wrote:
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>>>   I tuned a Hallet Davis & Co. piano today.  Atlas indicates it was built
>>> in 1885.  Not a bad piano, but...  It was 47 cents sharp on A4.  A5 was
>>> worse.  The client says that the previous tuner indicated that pianos of
>>> this time had a special tuning range.  He was the 2nd tuner they had had
>>> which had changed the frequency of the piano.  
>>>   Here I come, and I lowered it back down to A - 440.  I have to add that
>>> there were a lot of replaced strings.  Several had been tied off (very
>>> neatly too), and several completely replaced.  The sound board was also
>>> split and repaired.  this piano has been moved since previous tuning and
>>> spent several months in storage 
>>>   Anyone have any information about a "special" pitch for "pianos of this
>>> time."  Other than maybe tuning at 435, which is lower, I can't think of a
>>> reason for tuning it sharp at all, much less almost 50 cents sharp.   I
>>> can't imagine that moving it, or storing it would cause it to go sharp, at
>>> least not to that extent.
>>> 
>>>   Any thoughts???????
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>>Yes--lower the pitch on that piano back down to A-435 as soon as you
>>have the opportunity. If it's 50 cents sharp of A-440 NOW, with the
>>heat already on in many places, and the humidity down, imaagine how sharp
>>it might have been last spring or summer when the humidity was high. Al-
>>though some piano manufacturers may have been tuning to A-440 by the
>>early twenties, or even sooner, A-440 wasn't INFORMALLY adopted as stand-
>>ard pitch by the manufacturers until 1925. It wasn't formally adopted by
>>the forerunner of the US Bureau of standards until 1936 and it didn't
>>become international in scope until 1939. The cause of the broken strings
>>and the disintegrating soundboard is most likely trying to tune the in-
>>strument to a higher pitch than it was originally intended for even when
>>new. To continue to do so to an instrument that is well over a hundred
>>years old is to just ASK for more trouble. Like maybe having the plate
>>break on you. The problem most likely arose when the owner had it tuned
>>during a period of low humidity. That tuner MAY have tuned it to A-435,
>>or even, unknowingly to A-440. It most likely was later tuned during a
>>period of high humidity which had pushed the pitch up to A-440, or higher.
>>THAT tuner, being too lazy to take it back down to A-435, merely tuned it
>>to where he found it--A-440, or higher. After a succession of tunings at
>>higher than proper pitch, you now find it 50 cents higher than A-440.  
>>I would suggest that you bring it back down to proper pitch (A-435),
>>realizing that it will rise again in the future. Inform the owner of
>>what proper pitch is for his piano and write it on the plate somewhere
>>inside so that the next tuner who comes along who doesn't know what
>>he's doing will have a reference guide which he will probably ignore
>>anyway. That way the owner won't be able to blame YOU if some night
>>he's awakened by an explosion as the plate and/or soundboard let go
>>due to excessive tension. I've never HEARD it happen, but I've SEEN
>>what happens when called in the next morning to perform the autopsy
>>and give the last rites. It ain't pretty.
>>
>>Les Smith
>>lessmith@buffnet.net
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>Ed Carwithen
>Oregon
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