Pitch Raises ... Multiple Passes?

[SUSAN P SWEARINGEN]

Yes, this is exactly the method I use as well and I have pitched raised
pianos 100+ cents in one pass to get within 2-3 cents.  I highly recommend
it.

Corte Swearingen
Chicago
----- Original Message -----
From: "Alan R. Barnard" <mathstar@salemnet.com>
To: <pianotech@ptg.org>
Sent: Tuesday, August 20, 2002 12:21 PM
Subject: Pitch Raises ... Multiple Passes?


> Susan wrote: "I feel that the [muting] strip gives good service in pitch
> raises, when multiple passes are involved."
>
> Well, okay but ..
>
> If you have an ETD, and have not learned and tried Dr. Sa;nderson's
> scientific pitch raise/lower method, you are really missing something.
>
> I have made raises as much as 70 cents in one go, Sanderson says you can
be
> off 160 cents and still do it in one pass. It doesn't even matter if the
> amount "off" varies a lot up and down the keyboard--30 cents hear, 45
there,
> etc. It usually leaves the piano incredibly close, with a surprising
number
> of  freebies or near-freebies as you fine tune.
>
> Note: The term "near-freebie" is not to be found in any dictionary.
>
> Here is the Sanderson method in a nutshell. I will write it for the more
> common pitch raise. Lowering pitch is done exactly the same way, only you
> tune a percentage flat rather than sharp.
>
> 1. Pitch raise one string at a time from the lowest string to the highest,
> in order; not up and down from a temperament.
>
> 2. Take occasional measurements--Sanderson says "one or two per octave"
and,
> for certain, after crossing a break--and set your ETD to cents sharp
> according to this formula:
>
>     All wound strings: 1/5 (Example: You test 10 notes, or so, and find
them
> about 30 cents flat. You would set your ETD to +6 cents sharp and tune
those
> strings to that setting.)
>
>     The first six plain-wire strings: 1/3 (Example: The first 6 plain-wire
> strings average about 27 cents flat, you set the ETD to +9 sharp and
tune.)
>
>     All remaining strings: 1/4 (Example: Your tested notes average 30
cents
> flat, you set the ETD to +7.5 cents sharp and tune.)
>
> 3. CAUTION from Dr. Sanderson: To avoid overstretching and maybe breaking
> strings, no note should be tuned more than 50 cents sharp no matter what
the
> correction turns out to be. This limits the pitch
> raise to 160 cents over most of the keyboard. Repeat the same process on a
> section of notes that require more than a 50-cent correction.
>
> These are thoughts from my own experience:
>
>     A. You do not have to get overly fussy with this, just test a few
notes
> going up, and take a rough average. I never get out the calculator to get
it
> exact.
>
>     B.  I strip the piano completely as follows:
>
>         1. Strip every pair of bi-chords instead of every other pair. When
> you pull the strip, you will be exposing one string per pair at a time,
> which is what you want.
>             Tune the lower string to the ETD then pull the strip one loop,
> tune the remaining note of that pair by ear and the first note of the next
> pair to the ETD, etc., etc.
>         2. Strip tri-chords in the usual way. I tune the center string
> first, pull one loop of the strip, tune the right string of the note you
> previously tuned by ear and the left string of
>             the current note by ear, then the center of the next note to
the
> ETD. This sounds complicated but is not.
>                     Example:  Tuning C40 through D#43: Tune C (center) to
> ETD, pull one loop, tune B39 (right) by ear, tune C40 left by ear. Tune C#
> (center) to ETD, pull one loop,
>                     tune C (right) by ear and C# (left) by ear. Tune D
> (center) to ETD, pull one loop, tune C# (right) by ear, tune D (left) by
> ear. Tune D (center) to ETD, pull one loop,
>                     tune C# (right) and D (left) by ear. Tune D# (center)
to
> ETD, pull one loop, tune D (right) and D# left by ear ... etcetera.
>             Strictly speaking, Sanderson wants you to go from bottom to
top,
> one string at a time. But I don't like moving mutes or shoving them
between
> closely spaced strings and
>             doing it with the strip, as described, works just great even
> though you are jumping ahead three strings then backtracking.
>         3. When doing the "by ear" tunings, don't tune like you are tuning
> unisons. Just pull it close, slightly on the sharp side, if anything, and
> move on.
>
>     C. If the piano is really a mess, I go through it before strip-muting
to
> chip up any really flat notes to the highest note I find in that unison. I
> don't know if this makes a real difference but it makes
>         sense to me to bring everything as close as possible before
starting
> AND you might as well find out right away if you have a pin block problem.
> This is NOT tuning unisons, it is just quickly
>         bringing any bad little boys back into the classroom, so to speak,
> and should take very little time.
>
> I'm told the newer SATs have a built-in program to do all this. I do it
with
> a Yamaha PT-100II.
>
> Result: A ONE-PASS pitch raise (or drop) that is VERY accurate and can be
> done in a half hour, or less. Really! The following are Dr. Sanderson's
> words: "The method is so accurate that most notes come out to within five
> cents of the correct pitch--close enough so that the final tuning will
come
> out right on the button."
>
> Have fun,
>
> Alan R. Barnard
> Salem, MO
>