I Raise the pitch...on the pitch raise.

[Susan Kline]

At 04:03 PM 4/8/97 -0400, you wrote:
>Susan,
>
>In your note to us you stated how you pitch raise twice and clean up the tune
>on the third pass.  I propose if you pulled above pitch with the proper
>method you would save yourself the third pass.  I clean up on the second
>pass, and really I can say it is stable.  I also say I will need to come back
>in three to four months but have always found the instruments in very good
>shape.
>
>Ed Tomlinson
>Tomlinson Tuning and Repair

Hi, Ed

You are quite possibly right about saving time with two passes instead of
three. Obviously you get good results. I didn't make up a theory first -- I
kind of drifted into using three passes. (Actually, I usually can get away
with only two in the bass, since it doesn't change as much.)

My reasoning, after the fact, goes like this: I need to do less overpulling
by doing the first pass at A440. Whatever the final effect on stability,
certainly overpulling isn't _good_ for the strings. I can do the first pass
very quickly, since I will go over everything twice more. And by pulling to
A440, when I do the second pass I can tell how far the piano actually
shifted, and base the overpull on that, note by note, instead of choosing
some arbitrary figure. My feeling is that pianos vary a lot in how quickly
and how far they rebound, and in what registers. In a way, this tailors the
overpull to the response of the particular instrument.

Of course, I may be totally out to lunch with all this!

Regards,

Susan

>In a message dated 97-04-08 05:23:49 EDT, I wrote:

> Now, I find this interesting, because I follow a similar procedure without
> the Accutuner. I pull only to A440 on the first pass (to see how the land
> lies, and not to overpull too far). Then, before the second pass, I can see
> how far the pitch dropped, and overpull enough to compensate. (What can one
> say? I _guess_.) By waiting for the second pass I don't have to overpull as
> far. The decision of how far to overpull is kind of subliminal, as I do each
> note. Usually it ends up pretty good, and the third pass is for tidying.
>
> I always explain it will need another tuning soon in order to be stable, of
> course. I tell them that I showed the piano which block the ballpark was
> located in, etc. I tell them that the piano, like other people, dislikes
> being told exactly what to do, and strays a little, etc. If they look
> accommodating, I tell them about back lengths and different tensions in
> different parts of the string. If they don't look blank and bored after
> that, I chose the right thing to say. (Once in a while, every now and then,
> one can get it right.)
>
> Susan Kline >>
>
>
>

Susan Kline
skline@proaxis.com
P.O. Box 1651,
Philomath, OR 97370


"Warning: Whimsical when bored."