Pitch Raise Questions

[SUSAN P SWEARINGEN]

I always pitch raise from A0 and tune the unisons as I go.  I use a rubber
mute when I go from the single low bass strings to the bi-chords and have
all the tri-chords strip muted.  When I get to the tri-chords I use a
pattern that speeds up things considerably.  I will tune the center string
of, say, A4 (with my ETD).  I'll then pull out the left side of the strip
mute and tune the left string of A4 to the center string of A4 (aurally).  I
will then move up to A#4 and tune the center string (with my ETD).  I then
pull out the left side of mute as before and then tune the left string of
A#4 to the center string of A#4 (aurally).  At this point, I drop back down
to A4 and aurally tune the right string of A4 to open center and left
strings of A4. I then move up to B4 and repeat the procedure.  You would be
surprised how fast this goes.  I'm a new tuner myself (Randy Potter
graduate) and doing pitch raises in this manner takes me about 20-25
minutes.  It allows me to schedule a 2-hour tuning appointment - pitch
raise, fine-tune, and make any minor repairs and adjustments.  Of course,
I'd be much slower with that marvelous machine called the Verituner!

I use 20% overpull in the bass, 35% overpull for the first 6 plain-wire
strings in the tenor, and 25% overpull for the rest of the piano.  Why?
Because Dr. Sanderson has shown that using these overpull amounts along with
tuning unisons as you go, gets you very very close.  When using this method,
I have found that strings tend to fall 1 to 2 cents away from perefect - and
this is with pitch raises up to 100 cents.

Corte Swearingen
----- Original Message -----
From: "Farrell" <mfarrel2@tampabay.rr.com>
To: <pianotech@ptg.org>
Sent: Tuesday, June 25, 2002 8:31 AM
Subject: Re: Pitch Raise Questions


> Have you enjoyed your varying responses? Anything over 25 cents is a pitch
raise (PR)? Anything over 4 cents is a PR? Use 25% offset? Use the SAT PR
feature, but adjust offsets?
>
> I am also a Randy Potter grad. What all the above means is that you need
to experiment and find out what works for you in various situations. All the
responses are correct - for the person responding. I would give you a whole
additional set of responses!
>
> My suggestion is to start by following Randy Potter instructions and SAT
instructions. See how these guidelines work, and then modify them as you see
fit, so that you get the results you want.
>
> I don't think you will find any definitive guidelines for when a pitch
raise is needed. It always comes down to a benefit/cost thing. If you do not
use any pitch correction on a piano that is below standard pitch, and you
use standard pitch as your target, you will ALWAYS end up with your tuning
below standard pitch. Even if the piano is an average of ONE cent below
A440, if you use no pitch adjustment and a one pass tuning, the each note on
the piano will end up approximately 1/4 of a cent below A440. Now, that
would be acceptable in most any situation.
>
> But what many do with a SAT, is use the SAT PR feature to calculate a
target pitch. Read your SAT manual. Instruction are pretty clear. Most techs
would agree that using the SAT III PR feature on a piano that is between 2
and 5 cents flat will yield an acceptable tuning in one pass. Personally, I
lean toward the 2-cent limit - some go to 10 or 20 cents in one pass. I'm
simply not comfortable with that. But in any case, if you are doing a
one-pass tuning on a piano that is one/two cents or more flat - use the SAT
PR feature.
>
> The SAT manual says to tune unisons as you tune each center string.
>
> Doing two passes is strictly up to you and the results you want. Two
passes will always get you a better tuning. On really junky pianos where
there is no hope for a fine tuning anyway, I will go up to 10 cents in one
pass. On any better piano, I will go two passes for anything more that about
2 cents flat. It just comes out better for me that way.
>
> Regarding measuring how flat the piano is. The more notes you measure, the
better idea you will have of average pitch deviation. I measure at least all
the As, if not all the As and Ds, and sometime even more notes to get a real
good idea of what I am dealing with and what my approach is going to be.
>
> Hope this helps. Good luck with the course. Check back in.
>
> Terry Farrell
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: <euphoniac@juno.com>
> To: <pianotech@ptg.org>
> Sent: Monday, June 24, 2002 11:19 PM
> Subject: Pitch Raise Questions
>
>
> > I am currently a Randy Potter student with some questions about pitch
> > raising.  When I measure the pitch of A4 with my SAT III, how low (in
> > cents) should it be for me to need to perform a pitch raise?  Also, when
> > performing a pitch raise, is it better to raise only the single strings
> > all the way up, or should I raise all of the strings of each note as I
> > go?
> >
> > Thanks,
> >
> > Don Palmire
> >
>