Warbling piano wire

[Clark Sprague]

I tuned two new Baldwin uprights this week, with much the same "effect" coming
out of the things.  I did notice that both pianos had a turning overhead fan
working in the room.  Could this be the culprit in your case?
Clark Sprague


BSimon999@AOL.COM wrote:

> Today I tuned (with a 75cts PR) a Julius Bauer console that had the most
> interesting, and lousy, strings of any piano I have ever tuned.
>
> 95% of the plain strings had a very fast false beat, giving each individual
> string an annoying fast vibrato that muddied the tone produced. The SAT had
> no trouble keying on the right partial, and the unisons would drop in and go
> beatless as usual, but each string would sit there and warble like a bird. A
> beatless unison sounded like three drunk birds, very far away, were trying to
> harmonize with it. I will swear it wasn't the effect of a partial, or
> voicing.  The vibrato was apparent even when the string was plucked (at
> different points) and when I stuck a soft temperment strip between it and the
> hammer.  The hammers are more dead than alive, the piano has no power at all.
>  About one string in every octave sounded out clear as a bell. Go figure.
>
> I figured it was caused by some defect in the wire, but this effect was new
> to me, and I ain't new.  Has anyone else ever had something like this? I
> would welcome any explanations or suggestions on what to try when I return to
> it.
>
> Time constraints precluded me from a microscopic examination of the bridge (
> or seating the strings on the bridge)  but the v-bar looked all right.  I do
> expect to see this piano again, as the owner was absolutely delighted with
> the tuning to A440.  After all, it was the FIRST tuning since he bought it
> 10? years ago.  (  Tuned,  it sounded awful. )
>
> ( They said it was 12 years old, but I could find no serial numbers and the
> Atlas only lists up to 1938 anyway. It looks like an Aeolian, but was
> presumably made by Wurlitzer.)
>
> Thank you for any input,
>
> Bill Simon
> Phoenix