[pianotech] Tuning hammer position

Court Stewart calexste at gmail.com
Tue Sep 15 16:55:07 MDT 2009


Is Ron Koval here?  I noticed on his youtube videos, such as this
one<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g-HAzfDXx3s#t=6m45s>,
he uses a hammer position of roughly 10 o'clock for uprights, at least for
the tenor on up.  I've tried it since, and can see an advantage using the
fingers against the top of the piano for leverage (with thumb wrapped around
the lever).  I was wondering what the thinking was behind this?  Is the
leverage against the piano top? I can see where it could be useful to avoid
standing as required by a 12 o'clock position.  Or is it a stability trick?
When I tried it, it seemed that I didn't have to put the "twist" back in the
pin as I do when tuning from the 2 o'clock position.   But I haven't really
gotten a feel for the technique yet.

Thanks!

-Court Stewart

On Tue, Sep 15, 2009 at 6:31 PM, Terry Farrell <mfarrel2 at tampabay.rr.com>wrote:

> I'm a relative newbie at only 10 years or so. BUT, that doesn't stop me
> from contributing my two cents. Between noon and maybe 1:30 on a vertical
> (I'm 6'0") and anywhere from noon to 2:00 pm or so on a grand. I've never
> noticed any difference in stability with different positions. My technique
> may be part of that though. I last few back-and-forth movements are usually
> pretty light and I just don't see how a different angle would affect
> anything. If you were making one big pull and turning the pin, then I could
> easily understand how the hammer angle might affect stability.
>
> Terry Farrell
>
> PS: Dig the quote.
>
> On Sep 15, 2009, at 4:43 PM, Marc Mailhot wrote:
>
> Good afternoon everyone.  I'd like to start somewhat of a discussion here.
>
> For years...over 30 to be exact...I've been using my tuning hammer at the
> 12 o'clock position for uprights...consoles and 6 o'clock for grands...per
> my mentor all those years ago and also per the William Braid White book
> which states the hammer should be an extension of the string for best
> equalization of the tension.
>
> This afternoon to further and continue educating myself...I watched a good
> many Vids on tuning and repair technique on YouTube...and almost all the
> vids...some by professionals...were using the 3 o'clock position.  Am I out
> of touch...should I continue my traditional position..etc.
>
> Would very much appreciate comments from all of you on this what works best
> for you. I'm still getting over the partial knee replacement which is coming
> along wonderfully...and have no probs sitting down...but I do have an
> upright later this week and was wondering if I should change the hammer
> position.
>
> Again many thanks for your comments and input.
>
> Regards to all here.
>
> Marc P. Mailhot
> Marco Polo Music
> Westbrook, ME USA
>
> The Love You Take is Equal to the Love You Make...
>
> The Beatles/Abbey Road (The End)...1969
>
>
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