Dean May wrote: > > > The best reason to not do it is the customer will perceive you as having > destroyed their precious piano if it does collapse. Better to tune it to 150 > cents flat. > Hi Dean, of course you are right. I was assuming that all relevant warnings of customers had taken place, and I also was speaking a wee bit tongue in cheek. I have several old instruments that live very happily a half a step flat. But if the owner wants it at 440, the English pianos were built for it, the only way to discover whats going to break is to try. My advice from the beginning would be to restring, most times these old pinblocks are just barely hanging on anyway. I have seen a few, mostly French Herz, Erard and Pleyel grands where the block is collapsing forward and splitting at the stretcher, along the keyboard end line of tuning pins. These I will not try to tune, usually at that point the block is twisted enough that it is interfering with the action, now thats a joy. --Dean
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