unison clean-up, string voicing

[CCLPianos@AOL.COM]

I believe that by rubbing a string in a polishing manner you would induce 
heat thus lowering the pitch, temporarily.

Pat in Denver
In a message dated 7/29/00 10:23:54 AM, owner-pianotech-digest@ptg.org writes:

<< Using a 1/8 th.inch diameter brass dowell, with a modestly tapered
end,
> with a rounded (smooth) grove cut into it, I 'rub' the wire like I am
trying
> to polish it. Five of six strokes will lower the pitch. In the middle of
the
> piano, a unison which is one or two beats high, can be coaxed down with
this
> technique, usually in one (six stroke) pass.
>     On some wire, one can feel 'bumps', where the wire is either slightly
> bent, or just unevenly drawn. I think to myself that I am 'strightening
out
> the wire' with this technique, because the pitch comes down. ( I try and
> avoid pushing down on the wire, so as not to introduce excessive
distortion)
>
> One other wire, there is quite a bit of resistance from corrosion.
>
> The odd thing is, that the pitch comes right back up. Just strike the
note,
> and hear it start to go sharp again. After four or five hard blows, it is
> back to (about) where it started before massaging. (I am an aural tuner,
and
> I check the individual wires with thirds or sixths. It is the massaged
wire
> that is comming back up, and not the other wire going south.)
>
> Just when I thought I had found a nice accurate controlable method to
subtly
> change the pitch to clean up a unison!
>
> Dan Reed >>