Tuning old upright players

[Alan]

Odd that this post came up today.

I just spent two days with a 1926 Hamilton that does not have any
tilt-out options. A wing nut and bracket holds down each end of the top
assembly; three small tubes and one large one have to be removed; the
speed control linkage unhooked, then the whole top comes out including a
triple deck set of bellows that engage metal fingers on each sticker.

It's not too bad a job but it is quite heavy and has all those fragile
looking parts that make it kind of scary to deal with, n'est ce pas?

This is all in a senior residence center so I had plenty of onlookers
with questions!
 
This piano had been refurbished——hammer alignment & regulation
apparently NOT included in the job——but the pinblock was not good. Some
stings waaaaay flat and most at least 135 cents flat. I pumped in 7 oz.
of CA yesterday. Today I chipped it up 10 cents over, than did an ETD
pitch raise and two fine tuning passes.

Slapped in a few player rolls and let her rip. They loved it. Staff and
residents all gathered around and we had a good time. Nice to do some
work that has real, immediate, and appreciated results.

Alan R. Barnard
Salem, MO


-----Original Message-----
From: D.L. Bullock [mailto:dlbullock@att.net] 
Sent: Friday, July 16, 2004 11:10 AM
To: PTG; Tom Driscoll
Subject: Tuning old upright players


Since you are not a player tech, perhaps I should let you in on some
secrets to tuning them.

They are often designed for the head of the player (spoolbox, windmotor,
tracker, and everything mounted on the long top board) to fold down.
Gulbransens, have two thumbscrews at the ends you loosen and it all
folds forward.  There is even an expandable bracket attached to the
plate to hold it up.  Amphion and Ampico systems will also fold down in
a similar way. You only need something to prop the spoolbox on while it
is down.  Several others have this arrangement as well.  If they do not
have this-- like the Standard systems, you can remove the player with
four screws at the bass end and one long one going down at the treble
end.  Or you may remove only the wind motor for better access.

Or you could find a local player tech and send him all your player
tunings. That way he can take care of the player as well since they need
occasional tweaking which is best done with a tuning.

I refer, of course to players that have been correctly restored.  If
they have not been restored correctly, then they are nothing but
trouble.  I restore players so that I don't have to constantly go out
for service. Since I give a 5 year warranty on the player, I want to
make sure I don't have to make many warranty calls.  I only go out on
about one in three players but often the warranty call is just reminding
the customer how this or that works.  It is best when I tune and check
out the player regularly. About every two or three years I have to spend
15 minutes tweaking the player, but I check it with every tuning.

Oh, should you ever be required to regulate or repair the action on a
Duo Art grand (with the roll above the keys), don't bother unless you
take a real player tech (preferably a Duo Art man) with you.  It takes
me about 45 minutes to extricate the action for work on a Duo Art.
There is lots of stuff to break.  These are found in Steinway, Weber,
Steck, Stroud, AEolian. There were a very small number of Duo Arts built
into a drawer after 1932. They are same as normal pianos to get to the
action.

D.L. Bullock    St. Louis
www.thepianoworld.com



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