Old Upright, partial plate, Pitch?

[Tom Cole]

I would assume that the piano has been tuned at -100 cents to avoid
string breakage. Look for any strings shinier than the rest as evidence
that this was a necessary measure.

If you haven't already, it would be good to remove the top to see how
well the pinblock is glued to the frame of the piano, as well as to give
you a good look at the laminations. I always get a look at the angle of
the tuning pins from the side. If they are beginning to dip toward the
floor, you most likely would need to replace the block. Andre Bolduc has
a great method of replacing upright pinblocks.

If all looks normal, though, you should be able to restring with 3/0 (or
4/0) pins and tune to pitch. I recommend rescaling.

Tom Cole

> Mike and Jane Spalding wrote:
> 
> List,
> 
> Today I inspected a Harrison upright with a 3/4 plate (pinblick
> totally exposed)...