New Tuner

[Michael Gamble]

Hello Tim
Yesterday I had a real old clunker of a "birdcage" (overdamper) piano which
had slipped down to A=430 (or so) Within an hour and 15 minutes it was all
back at A=440.5. No tricky stuff here - just application. I described my
method way back in October last year (I think it was) and will be found in
the archives under a heading like: "raising to pitch" or "Pitch Raise" or
some such. Basically the system breaks down the piano into "quadrants" of
M3s. There are 4 such quandrants in the keyboard before you get back to
where you started - rather like the circle of M5s: Quadrant 1 starts at = B.
Q 2 = @ Bb. Q 3 = @A. Q 4 = @Ab. To use the system you have to tune the
first quadrant to about A=445. The 3rd Q to about A=443.5 The 2nd Q to about
A=442 and the 4th.Q to about A=440.5  The object of the system is to spread
the increased tension right across the frame - DON'T concentrate your
pitch-raise to the middle of the piano - you could break the iron frame!
Remember that the increase of one semi-tone = about a TON of extra tension!
ONLY tune the individual Quadrants in 8ves up to the pitches mentioned -
then fill in with their relative M3s before going on to the next set of
Quadrants. Recap. First the  B's in 8ves, followed by infill of the M3s,
Then the A's in 8ves, followed by their M3s, Next the Bb's in 8ves, followed
by their M3s and finally the Ab's followed by their M3's. You have nothing
to lose! You need only use a ETD for the 8ves, the M3's are done by ear.
Hope this is clearer than proverbial mud!
By the way (or BTW) Those Bass covered strings you mention can possibly be
improved by the following method:
First get a largish bottle with a neck you can grasp comfortably. Next
loosen off just one of those tubby old Bass strings and remove it at the
Hitch end. Now extract it from behind the keyboard so you have access to its
entire length. Now wind the old tubby string around the bottle (just one
wind will do) Now, grasping the bottle-neck in one hand and the hitch end in
the other wind the bottle up and down the string. The object is to loosen
the encrusted dirt between the interstices of the copper windings. Having
done this, wind the string one turn in whichever direction will "tighten"
the copper covering. Now replace the hitch loop back in its place and bring
it up to pitch. Then go on to the next string and do thou likewise
throughout.. You'll soon find out with just trying out one string whether
the MG Magic has worked! It might save you a whole set of Bass strings! (ps
I hope none of them break on you - otherwise you'll have to go to another MG
Magic - that of "tying-a-bit-on" .  And good luck! Remember you can only
learn by this!
>From sun-set in Sussex
Michael G (UK)