cheap Aeolian junk (really?)

[pianoman]

So, here I was  tuning a P-22 at this Catholic school at 7:30 AM and had to
come back and do the 2nd piano at 12:30PM.  The second piano, a Cable
(1974) that I last tuned in their gym in "94 at a pitch raise of 14 cents
then.  They have it now moved in the esteemed position of the same
classroom as the P-22.  
You remember this model of Cable console, a 32 note bass section of copper
wounds and the beginning of the treble with 4 notes of bi-chords with
alumuminin wrap.  This was the model that had the patented Tone Pulsator
(and I quote) "A specially engineered strip of sound carrying maple
connecting the soundboard and ribs spreading tone quickly and evenly."  It
was basically a strip of maple glued onto the back of the board connecting
several ribs in the treble end of the soundboard. 
 Since this was a 1974 model it would fall into what we commonly call the
AA junk era.  It had some terrible things such as a solid spruce soundboard
and real buckskin in the backstop and underneath the butt.  The buckskin
looked like new still and the checking distance, probably because of the
excellent wear on the backstops, was right and uniform still.  The "cheap"
nickel plated pins were still tight and showed no rust.  Remember I tuned
this last in "94 raising the pitch then 14%.
	This is how that piece of "junk" was found today, only 2 cents low and
fairly uniform at that.  It now was missing its front casters and was up on
2 2X4's under the legs, drat, I lost the  chance to sell them some of my
HHCC's.  Since I abandoned my previous school and church piano method of
tuning as many as possible in as short as period of time it got my standard
home tuning ritual. The piano came out well tuned with the help of my
trusty RCT and adding a +2c offset to the entire bass section deviation
numbers.  I have been doing this on some U-1s in the beginning of the wound
string in the lower treble with great effectiveness.  I compare it to a
fully aural tuner saying that they let the piano tell them where it wants
to be tuned.
	In short, tuning this "piece of junk" was a worthwhile exercise once you
slow down and approach it with the same finesse as a Yamaha.
James Grebe
:R.P.T. of the P.T.G. at 
 Since 1962 in St. Louis, MO.
  Caster Cup Center of the Universe
Home of Handsome Hardwood Caster Cups
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