String breakage (was Re: I Raise the pitch...)

[Rob Stuart-Vail]

Couldn't resist putting in my $0.02 on the pitch-raising issue:

I've been very satisfied with the results of my PR's, and for 15 years have
had very few broken strings.  My simple rules are:

1.  If the piano is less than 30 cents flat I will bring it to pitch in this
one tuning session, usually by means of a careful pitch raise that takes me
nearly 30 minutes, and a final pass which takes a bit less time.  I guess you
could say that virtually every tuning includes a pitchraise, anyway.

2.  Unless it's a fairly new piano, I never aim for more than 10 cents sharp
on the first pull.  If it's more than 30cents below pitch, I plan on two
sessions.

3.  I tell the client beforehand that "this is a repair tuning - a pitch
raising, just to get the piano in the ballpark".  It is not to be confused
with the tuning I will be doing a few days or a week from now.

4.  I always break flat until I am sure I have covered every pin in the piano.

So if I find an older piano that is less than 30 cents flat, I bring it to
pitch in that session, but if it is beyond 30 cents, I set my tuner one cent
sharp for every three cents flat (measuring in the temperament area) and I add
one cent to the total.  [If it's 15 cents flat, I pitchraise it to 6 cents
sharp of A=440].

I can afford to make a second trip for a finish tuning because:

a) I have arranged my work area to be as local as possible.
b) My PR fee is 80% of my regular tuning fee.
c) I charge a regular tuning fee for the second visit.
d) The stability I get from the above procedure is excellent.  If the piano is
decent, there is no further problem, and the client is happy.

p.s.  Today I "rendered" the strings to the bridges on a Steinway 45 - the top
treble particularly had been bad bad bad for some years with false beats, and
I finally convinced the client that it was time for this to be taken care of,
along with action service.

         The result was amazing!  Most of the false beats are gone.  Loose
bridge pins? I don't think so.

----------
From: 	owner-pianotech@byu.edu on behalf of Keith A. McGavern
Sent: 	Tuesday, April 08, 1997 5:15 PM
To: 	pianotech@byu.edu
Subject: 	Re: String breakage (was Re: I Raise the pitch...)

>...I have no doubt at all that this technique has saved me
>numerous broken strings over the years. Note that I still employ this
>technique on older, neglected instruments...
>
>Les Smith
>lessmith@buffnet.net

and

>Yep, I always tap it down before bringing it up and your right
>that has helped...
>
>David ilvedson, RPT
>ilvey@a.crl.com

and

>Also, by knocking every note flat as a first move, one is treating all
>strings uniformly, which I think helps stability later.
>
>The trick is to move them flat by the tiniest possible amount, also for
>stability..
..>
>Susan Kline
>skline@proaxis.com

and

>...I too break flat before raising to pitch, especially on pianos that need
>a pitch raise.  Maybe it only makes me feel better, but it seems to
>reduce breakage...
>
>Ed Carwithen
>carwite@eosc.osshe.edu

and

>I don't know if it means anything to you, but I keep good records and my
>string breaking average went from one in 15 pitch raises to one in 27.
>In my mind that is a worthwhile change!
>
>Warren D. Fisher
>fish@communique.net

Dear Les, David, Susan, Ed, Warren, List,

Thus far, all the evidences would seem to indicate this is the way to go.
=46or some odd reason I don't recall doing this at all in my practice of
pitch raises, even on older neglected uprights.  Mind you, not that I don't
initially feel a little queazy on those older neglected pianos.  Kind of
like those "butterflies in the stomach before a performance" syndrome.

Rather I use the pitch raising features (relatively speaking, I do make
inner modifications depending on the gut feeling of the individual
situation) in the Accu-Tuner.  Meaning, I use the overpull concept to
hopefully land as closely as possible to the desired pitch for each note.
Rarely, do I ever stop at A440, though I must admit, I seem to be coming
more timid as time passes, which is somewhat disconcerting.

So I guess my way of thinking is if I push the note flat, I would be
disturbing the accuracy of the pitch raising feature in the Accu-Tuner plus
taking longer in the pitch raise for the added physical actions of lowering
before raising.

Also, Warren's record keeping obviously speaks for itself.  Warren, is
there some kind of criteria you use in this record keeping, like all pianos
you pitch raise, regardless of age or condition, or just the ones you
determine are neglected, ones that have a certain degree of flatness, etc?

Sincerely,

Keith A. McGavern
kam544@ionet.net
Registered Piano Technician
Oklahoma Chapter 731
Piano Technicians Guild
Oklahoma Baptist University
Shawnee, Oklahoma, USA