post pitch-raise creep?

[Farrell]

Interesting indeed Bob. I typically spend about 45 minutes doing a 
significant pitch raise (PR) and then about an hour tuning. My observation 
is that most techs claim to do (and I presume do) a pitch raise in 20 
minutes or so - some as quick as 10 minutes. Some even do what might be 
called a "blind" PR where you figure out about how much of a pin turn is 
needed for the PR and then you just yank each pin that much and I guess 
cross your fingers (or at least that is what I would do).

But the thing I don't get with these quick PRs is that for a fine tuning, 
you really want the notes to be within about two cents of your target. I 
find that when I am raising the pitch 20 or 50 or however many cents, I need 
to make a couple motions of my lever to get within two cents of target (and 
I think I make a more stable tuning if I settle the string a bit). How can 
that be done in one quick motion?

Now kids, don't beat me up too terribly badly. I know I don't wield the 
fastest tuning lever in the west (or east or south or anywhere for that 
matter). But it seems to me that to provide an accurate stable tuning that 
you want to be making minimal pin movements during the fine tuning pass - 
and be starting with a string that is fairly stable - and that means you 
want the strings to be within a couple cents at most of target. And I don't 
see how that can be done during a 15 minute PR (at least by me - hey, I 
can't figure out how anyone can ride a unicycle either).

Be nice.

Terry Farrell

> It's interesting to hear someone else talk about
> spending more time in the pitch raise sometimes than
> in the final pass.  I have also found that sometime I
> can get through the final pass faster than the pitch
> raise if I am fairly careful doing the pitch raise/or
> pitch lowering.
> My pin setting during the pr is basically just going
> slightly above the pitch I want, and making sure I
> feel the bottom of the pin move in the block, and then
> easing it back down to the desired pitch.
>
> I am experimenting between fast and sloppier pitch
> raises versus careful ones to see which I really like
> best in terms of time and final accuracy.
>
> Bob Hull