"tinny"

[John Ross]

I would say that 'tinny' is used, because that is a word the customer understands. It probably came into 'our' usage from a customer trying to explain a sound impression, to her tuner.
I find nothing wrong with using the term.
John M. Ross
Windsor, Nova Scotia, Canada.
jrpiano at win.eastlink.ca
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: David Nereson 
  To: Pianotech List 
  Sent: Thursday, June 15, 2006 3:56 AM
  Subject: re: "tinny"


      People use the word "tinny" a lot to refer to any undesirable sound in a piano or in other instruments.  I don't know why they pick this word -- I guess because they don't know what other word to use and they have heard other people use it, so they figure it's "correct" for describing any undesirable sound in a piano.  But it almost never applies.  
      What instruments commonly used today are made of tin?  I've heard of a "tin horn" but have never seen one.   Tin drums existed at one time -- probably as toys for kids.  And I suppose certain types of whistles may have been made of tin once.  But whistles, drums, and horns sound nothing like each other, and none of them sound like even the worst piano tone.  And "tin" cans and pans are no longer really tin -- they're some steel alloy, I believe.    
      Someone on the list was describing tuning unisons and pulling one string above the desired pitch, at which point it sounded "tinny," then backing it down to settle it on pitch.  So is a "tinny" sound one that has fast beats?  Do instruments made of tin make fast beats?  Is "tinny" synonymous with out-of-tune?
      I suppose people really mean to describe a sound as "non-resonant," "not rich," "thin," perhaps "brassy," or "metallic."  
      I don't know why it grates on me so, but I wish people, especially technicians, would not just use a term like "tinny" automatically in describing, in this case, a unison that's not beatless.  To me, the habit falls in the same category as calling the hammers the "pads," and the plate the "harp."
          --David Nereson, RPT    
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