Strips or wedges

[Newton Hunt]

Dear Wim,

You wrote, " l was taught that the Bass has a bigger effect on the
soundboard and therefore l must tune it first."

I, also, was taught this but it is not the case.  Dr. Sanderson measured
the pitch of each note in the middle section and bass, then removed the
bass strings and remeasured the middle and treble sections and plotted
the differences on a graph.

Dr. Sanderson maintained for years that it was the plate struts that are
compressed or decompressed during a pitch change, not the soundboard.

THe graph that he showed proved compulsively that he was, and is,
correct.

This being the case it would make little difference which you tune
first, the bass or the treble, provided the piano is in reasonable tune
before the final tuning.

In this situation it is only a matter of personal preference which to
tune first or last.

                        Newton