Flat A

[Ryan, Philip]

Warren,

Have any of these pianos been used in connection with other instruments,
especially strings?    I have found that band and orchestra teachers
pound and pound the "A" to tune the instruments.  This might account for
your phenomenon.

Warren Fisher wrote:

> I live in transient suburb who's citizens and those who are my
> customers
> are constantly moving in and out chasing their careers in the oil
> patch,
> the Navy and various government vocations.  So I get in a lot of
> pianos
> from all over the world that have a puzzling charastic.  The pitch of
> the A4 is many times considerably different  (usually flatter) than
> its
> immediate neighbors!
>
> Considering the fact that this is the wettest place in the world this
> time of year, I'm not surprized to get a piano that is 15 to 20 cents
> sharp if it came in from Denver or AT pitch in the middle while the
> ends
> are 30 cents flat if it had been neglected, but why is there 4-8 cents
>
> difference between A-4 and G# or A#?  Since we SAT users usually
> measure
> that note to compute a pitch raise offset (I don't anymore) it can
> lead
> to some interesting results.
>
> Why is it flatter?  Is it because we tune the "A" first in the
> temperament process? Or the F,A & C in the FAC procedure?  Several
> times
> after finishing the FAC procedure on a substantial pitch raise, I've
> wondered if I should put those strings back at the pitch they were at
> the start so all of the strings would be pulled up together!
>
> I've also noticed the A" being slightly flat at times on pianos that
> just need a tuning, old customers as well as new.  So what is going on
>
> here?
> Any guesses?
>
> Warren
>
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> Warren D. Fisher
> fish@communique.net
> Registered Piano Technician
> Piano Technicians Guild
> New Orleans Chapter 701