Terry, The reasoning about starting at the top because there are usually more decreases in pitch that in the bass has some relevancy, but it wouldn't work effectively. We shouldn't consider cents in the bass and in the treble as two sides of an equation because they don't mean the same thing. There are lots of tension in the bass, less in the tenor section and even less in the treble. It means that if you raise for example the bass section by 20 cents, it will have a higher drop effect on the rest of the piano than if you would raise the treble by the same amount. The idea of starting from A0 comes from the fact that you are better to start from the strings have more drop effect on the rest of the piano and finish by those that have less drop effect, all this in order to have a more stable and a more predictable result. It is certainly possible to pitch raise starting from C88 but, to have a satifactory result, not only you would have to raise the treble by the same amount anyway than if you would have started from A0, but you would have also to calculate the amount of drift in the bass before doing anything in order to establish the desired offset in the tenor and in the treble. Well, that may be a good idea if you charge your tunings on an hourly basis. :-) Michel Lachance, RPT >I have wondered repeatedly why I don't start a pitch raise at C88 rather >than A0 (everytime I answer "great idea, try it next time - I never have). >I >use a SAT III and rubber/felt mutes for pitch raises. Most pianos that need >a pitch raise are flattest in the top couple octaves. The top couple >octaves >is where the risk of string breakage is greatest. Also, when one is raising >pitch, the tension of the remaining strings drop an additional amount >before >you even get to them (my experience is that if the hi treble is 50 cents >flat before starting a pitch raise, by the time you get to it after raising >the bass and tenor, the hi treble will be perhaps 80 cents flat) thereby >increasing the risk of string breakage. > >Take the common situation where the bass is say 20 cents flat, tenor 30 >cents flat, treble 40 cents flat, and hi-treble 50 cents flat. Start >raising >pitch in the hi-treble and progress toward the bass. Would I not find >advantage in giving the piano a more even pitch raise (rather than raising >pitch 20 to 80 cents (bass to treble), I would be raising pitch perhaps 50 >to 30 cents (treble to bass). Just plain old happier for the piano overall, >and much less chance of strings breaking. > >One of the advantages this may offer is when pitch raising on an old risky >piano. I hate the thought of raising pitch on bass and tenor, just to get >to >the treble and find that strings are breaking right and left. If strings >are >going to not be able to take A440, you will find out right away if you >start >at C88 (of course then you are faced with the occassional problem of tener >bass strings! - although in my experience that is less common). > >So now you ask why do I not try it and report back. I will. But before I >do, >does anyone think this idea has any merit? Has anyone else tried it or do >this regularly? > >Terry Farrell >Piano Tuning & Service >Tampa, Florida >mfarrel2@tampabay.rr.com > _________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com. Share information about yourself, create your own public profile at http://profiles.msn.com.
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