Pitch raising on older pianos

[Ron Nossaman]

>I do it and almost
>always, no problem.

Then again, the other day I left a 30 year old (thereabouts) Acrosonic a
quarter semitone low because the bass wouldn't come up to pitch without
breaking strings. Two strings popped going for 440 (can't let just one
scare you off - might be a fluke), and a third on a second attempt at about
15 cents low. The third attempt at 25 cents low got me through with no
further damage. This on a piano with absolutely beautiful strings that
looked just as safe as they could be. The string takeoff angle from the
pins was too high, and riding over the bottom of the coils. I spent over an
hour and a half just trying to save myself and salvage strings. It's just
not safe anywhere out there!  



>Now the part I will get flamed for. I sometimes also ask whether the
>previous tuner was an elderly gentleman. The answer has ALWAYS been yes. I'm
>not sure why that is. I guess that was just the way it was taught years ago.
>Or maybe these are tuners that don't replace strings?
>
>Terry Farrell

Maybe Depression kids. Use it up, wear it out, and don't risk breaking what
you've got trying to improve it "unnecessarily". That kind of thinking
meant survival in the 30's and was awfully hard for a lot of the
participants to get past.

Ron N