[pianotech] Clarification Question: i'll take a pass

[Dean May]

Be careful about thinking the a/c will keep RH down. Conditioned air coming
off the A/C evaporator coils is at near 100 % RH. If that air is blowing on
the piano, i.e., the piano is too close to a vent, then the piano is going
to pick up significant moisture, even if A/C is on full blast and the room
is cold. 

Dean

Dean May             cell 812.239.3359 

PianoRebuilders.com   812.235.5272 

Terre Haute IN  47802

 

-----Original Message-----
From: pianotech-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces at ptg.org] On Behalf
Of Terry Farrell
Sent: Tuesday, August 25, 2009 8:05 PM
To: pianotech at ptg.org
Subject: Re: [pianotech] Clarification Question: i'll take a pass

Hey Wim - I think you and I experience similar evnironmental  
conditions. I find that modern air-conditioned homes in Florida  
provide a very stable environment for a piano - most folks don't hit  
the heat much in the winter and the AC running most of the time in the  
summer keeps the RH down - pretty darn stable environment.

It makes me happy. :-)

Terry Farrell

On Aug 25, 2009, at 7:44 PM, wimblees at aol.com wrote:

> I would like to chime in with my view on this. I agree with Terry's  
> (and Paul's) assessments, but here are a couple of additional  
> thoughts on the matter which might clear up some misconceptions.
>
> First is the definition of the term "one pass". To me this means  
> going from A0 to C88 one time, whether it's starting from A44 with a  
> fork and setting an aural temperament, or tuning all the notes with  
> an ETD, regardless of where you start. Even when tuning a piano  
> that's already at pitch, the piano should get at least 2 passes, and  
> then some. In other words, it's not enough to just tune the piano  
> once, and let it go at that. A second pass is needed just to assure  
> that all the notes are where they are supposed to be. And then a  
> third or forth pass might be needed to tweak a few more notes.
>
> Second is the stability of a piano after a "pitch raise". Before we  
> can say that a piano will not be stable after a pitch raise, we need  
> to recognize that most pianos are not stable, especially in certain  
> parts of the country. Having lived in the Midwest, I know that it's  
> not uncommon to have the heat on at night and the AC running at full  
> blast that same afternoon, and where summer temperatures can be over  
> 100, with humidity to match, and to have sub-zero temperatures in  
> the winter. In other words, for a piano to go sour after a pitch  
> raise is not necessarily caused by the pitch raise. That piano was  
> destined to go out of tune, no matter what kind of tuning was done.
>
> The pitch raises most of us are familiar with are pianos that  
> haven't been tuned for many years, often longer than customers even  
> admit. To argue that a piano in a concert setting will not stay in  
> tune after a pitch raise is almost a redundant statement, primarily  
> because pianos in concert setting don't go untuned for more than a  
> month at most. When Bill asked the question, he was most likely  
> referring to pianos that are 20 or more cents flat, not because of a  
> sudden change in temperature, but because of years of neglect.
>
> Which brings me to my philosophy about pitch raise and fine tuning.  
> Regardless of how flat a piano is, on the first pass the piano is  
> tuned 25% higher than it was low. This brings the piano back to  
> "even keel". In this case, that first pass is as described above.  
> This is immediately followed by a "regular" tuning, which requires  
> two, three or even four passes, all in one sitting. I have found  
> that with this tuning the piano will be "stable", as described above.
>
> I can say with all honesty that this happens, because unlike the  
> weather conditions in the Midwest, we have a very stable climate in  
> Hawaii. Day time temperatures are between 80 and 90 degrees, year  
> around. Night time temperatures are between 65 and 75, year around.  
> The humidity is always between 65% and 80%. Under these conditions I  
> have done a 75 cent pitch raise and tuning, and came back a year  
> later with that piano at pitch, and no more out of tune than a piano  
> that was tuned at pitch the year before.
>
> In conclusion, when a piano has been through a pitch raise and a  
> tuning in one sitting, yes it will go out of tune, but not because  
> it just went through a pitch raise. It will go out of tune because  
> that piano is in an unstable environment, and because of design,  
> will probably never be "stable".
>
>
> Willem (Wim) Blees, RPT
> Piano Tuner/Technician
> Mililani, Oahu, HI
> 808-349-2943
> Author of:
> The Business of Piano Tuning
> available from Potter Press
> www.pianotuning.com
>
>