Step one: Lubricate the heck out of the understring felt. I use Protek CLP from Pianotek. That will get you a large step in the right direction. If you haven't had much experience with Steinway uprights, give yourself at least an extra half an hour to complete the appointment. Step two: Don't necessarily overshoot the pitch and drop it in, when you're setting the pin. The excessive friction that some of these pianos exhibit, means you might be better off bringing the string up to pitch and just leaving it. A good strong test blow is in order on these pianos. The idea here, is to figure out how much friction is in the system by feel, and adjust your technique accordingly. Tight pins with no pin bushings, and high friction in the upper bearing system means extra care from the tuner. Attend as many classes on Steinway pianos as you can! Steinway will be offering classes at the 2011 PTG Technical Institute in Kansas City. Take this opportunity to learn how to deal with these challenging pianos. Attending PTG conferences is a terrific investment. Start planning now! Finally! The conference will be in July after the week of the 4th! For technicians with families this is a big bonus! On Sat, Nov 20, 2010 at 6:19 PM, Tom Rhea, Jr. <rheapiano at cox.net> wrote: > List: > > I was approached by a potential client who wanted me to tune her late > grandmother’s Steinway upright. It was recently moved from her > grandmother’s home to its present location and, regretfully, hasn’t been > tuned in many (read: more than ten) years. Of course I agreed, since I’m > working hard to get my fledgling business off the ground, but then I > remembered that a number of technicians in my limited experience had been > less than complimentary of the Steinway upright due to its quirky nature > during tuning. > > My inclination is to approach this tuning with no preconceptions but alarm > bells are still insistently ringing in my head. Are there any pitfalls or > booby traps that I should be aware of before attempting this daunting task? > > Your collective wisdom will be most appreciated. > > > > Tom > > > > Rhea Piano Service > > Tom Rhea, Jr., Technician > > (757) 373-0284 > > rheapiano at cox.net > > Graduate, Randy Potter School of Piano Technology > > Certified Installer, Dampp-Chaser Piano Lifesaver Humidity Control Systems > > > -- Ryan Sowers, RPT Puget Sound Chapter Olympia, WA www.pianova.net -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: <http://ptg.org/pipermail/pianotech.php/attachments/20101121/282639c2/attachment.htm>
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