This is a multi-part message in MIME format. ---------------------- multipart/alternative attachment ----- Original Message -----=20 From: Piannaman@aol.com=20 To: pianotech@ptg.org=20 Sent: Tuesday, May 06, 2003 10:25 PM Subject: A sweet old lady I just got through tuning my first square grand, an 1873 Steinway. = Special thanks to Jon Page, Paul Chick, and Joe Garrett for good = information. =20 All in all, it was nowhere near the pain I thought it was going to be. = I suppose many years as a bike racer has gotten me used to bending over = in such an ungainly way that it didn't phase me too much. =20 I had my oval-tipped hammer in hand ready to do battle with the beast, = but when I opened the lid, I was almost disappointed to see square = headed tuning pins! Question: could these be original? And much to my = chagrin, somebody had written the letters of all of the naturals on the = plate next to the pins. It did make my job a bit easier, I must admit, = but I unnecessary and desctructive.=20 The hammers looked as if they had been replaced not so long ago, and = they had a nice sound. I proceeded with Jon's recommendation of a = Broadwood Best temperament(per Tunelab Pocket) and set the pitch at A = 435. I hope this was the right thing to do, because when I arrived, it = was between there and 440. The previous tuner had tuned it in ET at 440. = =20 The pins had been doped, but they didn't seem too spongy, though quite = a few of them were springy and hard to set. Got up to A7(the last note = on the keyboard) and the hammer didn't hit the string. Great! An = opportunity to remove the action. It was a very simple process, and = next thing I knew, I was examining a very simple, ingenious and = beautifully made device. At first I thought that the jack had broken = off, but it had merely flopped forward. I flopped it back. =20 Put the action back in, finished tuning, put the dampers back on. = When I played the tone was incredibly rich and sweet, the pitch and = temperament made the piano sing! The owners were thrilled, and so was = I. It was a worthwhile 2 1/2 plus hours, and--I never thought I'd say = this--I look forward to my next encounter with a square!=20 Dave Stahl=20 I'd say you were lucky. Many of them are so decrepit, they're not = worth working on. Removing the action is often opening a large can of = worms. Same with removing the damper system. But not always. Most of = them have a lighter, smaller, less robust tone than modern pianos, which = can be a disappointment for some owners. =20 Some squares, depending when they were built, do have square-tipped = tuning pins. Some also had the letter names of the strings written or = stamped on the plate at the factory, as a convenience for tuners. --David Nereson, RPT ---------------------- multipart/alternative attachment An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: https://www.moypiano.com/ptg/pianotech.php/attachments/53/5a/11/b1/attachment.htm ---------------------- multipart/alternative attachment--
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