HUGE pitch raise

[Chris Olson]

Hi,

I have been asked to do a pitch raise on a old upright (1905) that is 197
cents flat!!!  They called me and said that another tuner had been there
twice since January and told them it couldn't be tuned to A-440 and they
wanted my opinion. When I got there they told me that he was slowly raising
the pitch, but I don't think he knows what he's doing.  It is getting in
their way as far as learning to play goes and they want it up to pitch now.
I've never done a pitch raise on a piano more that 50 or 60 cents flat and
I was wondering if you guys had any advice.  The strings don't look
corroded just dirty around the coil, and there are very minor cracks in the
bass bridge. I couldn't deal with it right then, so I told them I would
consult some "experts"

   So, do I do in in a couple of passes, just go for it in one pass, or run
the other way as fast as I can?


Thanks for any advice,

Chris Olson
associate member, PTG
Complete Piano Services
Sebastopol, California