On the subject of pitch raising: There have been many methods of the actual raising method described here. Some of us have done this 1000's of times. But, please warn the begining techs that there are some important things that should be done BEFORE the job is started. Among them.... Discuss the process with the customer both pros and cons; If an older piano has been neglected for ages one can be sure the plate screws or bolts need tightening. Can we hear other pre-needs before the 12-15 minute job is done? I think these pre-needs are very important. Am I wrong? Carlos Ralon, RPT ----- Original Message ----- From: "Jim Busby" <jim_busby at byu.edu> To: <pianotech at ptg.org> Sent: Wednesday, August 19, 2009 7:10 PM Subject: Re: [pianotech] 179c Pitch Raise Terry, This is how I've done it for over 30 years. Never had a problem, so far. The main thing I might add is that this first pass I have down to 12-15 minutes. (Yes, I time it!) So what if you even have to do it twice, that's still around 30 minutes. I don't even charge for pitch raises anymore, except if I need an extra ten bucks for lunch. "Oh, but you might break the plate!" Probably 500+ or so pianos and never broke one yet. BUT, one did break on the showroom floor at midnight, when no one was around... But, maybe I'm just lucky. Jim Busby RPT ________________________________________ From: pianotech-bounces at ptg.org [pianotech-bounces at ptg.org] On Behalf Of Terry Farrell [mfarrel2 at tampabay.rr.com] Sent: Wednesday, August 19, 2009 3:07 AM To: pianotech at ptg.org Subject: Re: [pianotech] 179c Pitch Raise On a piano that is a couple hundred cents flat I would simply ETD tune from A0 to C8 and overshoot A440 in the bass by maybe 10 cents, the tenor 20 cents and the treble 30 cents or so (assuming the piano was in pretty good shape - less overpull if any concerns). A second pass would be a small pitch raise. What advantage does your approach of all A's, then A#'s, then B's, etc. have? Or is it that you simply feel there is less chance of breaking the plate? FWIW, I've used my method oodles of time on pianos that were two and three hundred cents flat with no trouble. Sure is a lot easier to keep track of where you are and where you have been..... Terry Farrell On Aug 18, 2009, at 11:27 PM, Norm Barrett wrote: > Let me throw out a method for pitch raising a piano that flat for > consideration. > 1. Load your ETD with an average tuning and set the tuning offset > +20 cents. Now tune all the A's to the pitch indicated by the machine. > 2. Lower the offset by 5 cents and tune all the A#'s > 3. Lower the offset by 5 cents and tune all the Bs. > > Continue in this manner until all the notes on the piano have been > pulled up. This will be the most drastic tension change. > > Set the machine in pitch raise mode and run through the piano from > A0 to C8. > The piano should now be close enough to proper tension to do a > fairly good fine tuning. I have used this sequence successfully for > very flat pianos and it worked for me. > > Norm Barrett > > > Michael Magness wrote: >> >> Hi All, >> I came across an old, 1925, Gulbranson upright an ex-player with a >> 3/4 plate that was extremly flat today. I tried to sample the a's >> with my Cyber tuner but they wouldn't read so I kept trying >> different notes, finally the C's worked and registered as A's. >> I used the pitch raise feature to raise the bass and lower tenor >> then used my temperment strips to strip the piano all the way to >> the top and tuned the center strings by ear using octaves then >> tuned the unisons pulling the strips out one string at a time. >> I then re-set the Cyber tuner to the smart tune feature and re- >> tuned the bass and tenor. >> As I was tuning A3 the Cybertuner showed the original pitch of that >> note to have been -179c and others around it in that general range >> 170's and 160's >> No strings broke although they were rusty looking, I finally found >> a use for that Protek I've been hauling around, I used a q-tip and >> put some Protek on the strings at the pressure bar and v-bar. >> I'm scheduled to go back next week to re-tune it and again a couple >> of weeks after that. >> I've done full tone pitch raises but never one this bad! >> Mike >> -- >> I intend to live forever. So far, so good. >> Steven Wright >> >> >> Michael Magness >> Magness Piano Service >> 608-786-4404 >> www.IFixPianos.com <http://www.IFixPianos.com> >> email mike at ifixpianos.com <mailto:mike at ifixpianos.com>
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