Tuning a Kawai Grand RX-2

[A440A at aol.com]

Greetings, 
<< >Its just a few unisons that go out (and not the same ones) in the 
>treble section, no matter
>how hard I pound to set it. It usually goes out within a week >>

          I bet it goes out within a few hours. These pianos (rx series) 
don't seem to respond to pounding.  My first experience with them was when I was 
asked to take over the tuning of a RX-6 at a mega church. There had been a 
string of techs called in on this piano, and with all of them doing weekly 
tunings, there were still unisons with 20 cents in them by the following Sunday.  It 
took about 4 tunings to get everything back to a reasonably settled in  
position, and I now tune it about every 6 weeks. And there are no screaming unisons. 
   
   I found that the piano was able to be stably tuned by moving the pitch up 
and down without rotating the pin to find its 'center' of torque,(that point 
from which equal flexing of the pin in either direction will move the pitch the 
same amount),  then moving the pin in the direction it need to go.  Then once 
again,  flexing the pin counter and clockwise to reestablish the 'center'.  I 
was able to find a place that kept the top string and speaking length close 
enough to the same tension so that a hard blow wouldn't cause the string to go 
sharp( I tend to leave a lot of tension in the top string for my stability) or 
flat.    Ultimately, I want that 'center' to be slightly above my final pitch 
so that I can flex the pin down to pitch and have a reasonable expectation 
that my top string is just the right amount tauter than the speaking length.  
Once there, the string will stay put, but I have to know where I am coming from 
when I get to pitch.
   I don't think these pianos have enough friction on the capo bar, and 
pounding the string is simply creating an imbalance between the top string and 
speaking length that resolves itself with time, (ie, that week).  
Not only is finesse more stable than pounding, (in my experience), but it is 
so much less damaging to the joints and tendons,(damhik). 
Regards,      



Ed Foote RPT 
http://www.uk-piano.org/edfoote/index.html
www.uk-piano.org/edfoote/well_tempered_piano.html
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