Hi Paul, I probably should not mention this as it is embarrassing but you might find it interesting if not amusing. When I was first starting out I was tuning an old upright that was about 150 cents flat. This was before the SAT would offset that far so I was trying to bring it up to 440 by interpolation. Some how I did something wrong and wound up bring it 100 cents sharp. This should be A = 465. Not a single string broke and everybody loved the way the piano sounded, (this was in a store). It was later sold to a customer whose children were taking Suzuki lessons so I had to bring it back down to 440. It was interesting that when this was accomplished, the bass, which was very tubby or dead before I started, sounded quite normal. It may not be possible to ever do this again and I am not going to find out but I do not fear bringing a piano to pitch because of breaking strings. This has nothing to do with A 435 or A 440 but just for your information to keep in the back of your mind. Norm Barrett Memphis, TN Paul N. Bailey wrote: > What about pianos that were designed and built for a lower pitch level, > like 435 or 436? > (snip) > > I often tune old uprights at 435 or 436 if I have reason to think that was > the intention of the builder. I tell the client, and if they are going to > be playing with modern wind instruments, I might try to nurse it up to 438. > If they're happy to pay me to replace broken wires, well.... >
This PTG archive page provided courtesy of Moy Piano Service, LLC