Old Upright, partial plate, Pitch?

[Stephen Airy]

I'm not much of a tech, but from what I've read in
Larry Fine's piano book (I think) and in Arthur
Reblitz's "Piano Servicing, Tuning & Rebuilding", a
piano with a 3/4 plate has a high risk of structural
failure.  Personally, I am only getting started in
tuning pianos (i've tuned mine several times (full
plate) and tuned a few friends' pianos.  I would be
uncomfortable trying to raise the pitch on a 3/4 plate
piano to 440.  I might try 435, but I'd check with
other techs.  Personally I'd be more comfortable with
427 or 50 cents flat (for a short time, after breaking
the 3rd string (not all in the same tuning though) I
had my 56" full plate 1913 Ricca & Son tuned 50c
flat).  You guys can decide what you want to do, but
if it was my piano and I wanted to play along with
recordings (CDs and cassettes), I would tune the piano
100c low (A-415) and transpose my playing up a half
step.  I'm new here so that's just my opinion and what
I've learned from reading a couple books and some
emails from techs on the list.  

I'd appreciate it if you RPTs on the lists (of which
I'm not yet) check me out and correct me if/where
necessary.

--- Mike and Jane Spalding <mjbkspal@execpc.com>
wrote:
> List,
> 
> Today I inspected a Harrison upright with a 3/4
> plate (pinblick totally exposed).  Owner recently
> deceased, a relative 100 miles away might want the
> piano if it is "tunable".  Obviously, there is the
> standard list of things to repair & regulate , and
> warnings about surprises during any
> "reconditioning", or following transportation.  The
> family member I'm dealing with was remarkably
> objective about the whole economic value vs
> sentimental value thing, thank goodness!
> 
> What about this exposed pinblock - are there unique
> problems and dangers associated with this thing? 
> Pitch was 100 cents low, almost uniformly from top
> to bottom (bass less, high treble more).  Can I
> conclude from this that the piano had been
> maintained at below 440?  Can a partial plate
> upright be safely tuned to 440 or should it be kept
> at, say, 435?  Pins appear to be original, or at
> least original size, #2 tip fits nicely, so
> re-pinning with oversize pins looks like a
> possibility.  Again, does the exposed pinblock
> create any special concerns with this approach? 
> Plate and case in good condition, no sign of cracks
> or separation in pinblock, but most pins don't have
> much more than the minimum amount of torque needed
> to stay at current pitch.  And, it was 80F and 66%RH
> today.
> 
> 
> thanks
> 


__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Make international calls for as low as $.04/minute with Yahoo! Messenger
http://phonecard.yahoo.com/