"Tuned" Pitch Drop

[Farrell]

This is a multi-part message in MIME format.

---------------------- multipart/alternative attachment
Comments below:

Terry Farrell
 =20
----- Original Message -----=20
From: "Clyde Hollinger" <cedel@supernet.com>
To: "Pianotech" <pianotech@ptg.org>
Sent: Friday, April 18, 2003 6:31 PM
Subject: Re: "Tuned" Pitch Drop


> Terry,
>=20
> Do you tune all unisons as you go?  If you do, I don't have an answer.

Yes, I tune unisons as I go. Oh, well, so much for that one.
=20
> But if you do one string for each key and then do the unisons =
afterward, might it be that those tuning pins slipped before you did the =
unisons, and you then tuned the other string to the incorrect lower =
pitch?

Even if I did, 50 cents? Man I know I have bad days, but............!!!! =
  ;-)
>=20
> But that's no good, either, if the phenomenon just occurred in the =
last week or so.  Is this her only piano, or does she use it only =
sporadically and maybe just didn't notice the flat notes until now?

Only piano she teaches on it every day and bangs out a bunch of =
Rachmonanoff (sp? I don't feel like looking it up this time!) =
afterwards.

> This week I tuned a 1911 Knabe grand piano that had very loose tuning =
pins scattered throughout (needs a complete rebuild it will never get, I =
reckon).  I've tuned this piano every six months since 1997, and it =
never had the problem to this extent before.  Sometimes we have answers, =
and sometimes we don't.  Sorry.

Another spooky thing - most of the pins for strings that went flat - =
they were not really all that loose anyway - they felt like they should =
have held??????? Do, do, do, do - do, do, do, do (to the tune of =
Twilight Zone).
=20
> Regards,
> Clyde
>=20
> Farrell wrote:
>=20
> > I got a call from a piano teacher - a regular customer - yesterday =
with a 70 or 80 year old Baldwin L. The last several tunings I have been =
warning her that numerous tuning pins appear to barely be holding and =
sometime soon we will likely have to do something about that. Last =
tuning I actually had to tap in a few pins to get them to hold (maybe =
three months ago).
> >
> > She calls yesterday and says that several bass strings are way flat =
and she just can't play the piano like that. We go over options to =
repair loose pins. She's not ready to restring (piano needs it), so we =
decide to go with CA glue on pins. So I check out piano. Indeed, nine =
bass notes ranged from 25 to 60 cents flat (every other note on piano =
was within a cent or two of target - a few bass notes were a tad sharp - =
likely in response to the few notes going flat).
> >
> > BUT - five of these notes were wound bicords. AND BOTH STRINGS ON =
ALL FIVE NOTES WERE EQUALLY FLAT! I'm saying that the notes that were 25 =
to 60 cents flat had perfectly tuned unisons. Obviously, one would think =
that pins letting loose would be an arbitrary occurrence - one here, one =
there. It's almost like someone that knew how to tune a unison but not =
an octave tried to "fix" the tuning. I asked her, and she said no one =
has gone near the piano with a tuning wrench (maybe I should have asked =
about vice grips!) since I was last there.
> >
> > Anyway, anyone have a reasonable explanation how this could happen? =
Boy, I don't know what the odds are against a random occurrence like =
this, but I'm sure they are not quite as good as winning the lottery.
>=20
> _______________________________________________
> pianotech list info: https://www.moypiano.com/resources/#archives
---------------------- multipart/alternative attachment
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: https://www.moypiano.com/ptg/pianotech.php/attachments/3e/ea/16/59/attachment.htm

---------------------- multipart/alternative attachment--