Alan writes:
> didn't Dr. Sanderson
>and others test this whole business and determine that all changes to
>the piano caused by changing string tensions are immediate?
>As this issue has a definite impact on the way we conduct business, I'd
>like to see a definitive answer here, not just opinions or anecdotal
>experiences.
>
Greetings,
Hmm, you can wish for definitive, but that needs lab conditions of
statistical importance, so I don't think it will happen.
I know that my least stable tunings are the ones that I do directly on
top of a major pitch raise. Even though the tuning will be clean enough for
recording, a couple of days later, it is useless. An often tuned piano, left
suddenly off the schedule, will maintain its unisons and octaves a lot longer
than a piano that is pulled up 12 cents and then tuned immediately after. At
least, in my own experience.
I always attributed it to the slower change found in distorting wood
fibers than steel molecules. It doesn't seem illogical that additional stress on
a captured wooden panel would cause continuing changes for 24 hours.
Often, the time for "adjusting" will be what it takes to fix a pedal
squeak between the raise and the tuning, but I tell myself that the first few
minutes of new tension are probably greater than the next few hours. I don't know
what the rate of change is. I just know that my tunings hold together a lot
better on pianos that were at pitch to begin with.
Ed Foote RPT
www.uk-piano.org/edfoote/
www.uk-piano.org/edfoote/well_tempered_piano.html
<A HREF="http://artists.mp3s.com/artists/399/six_degrees_of_tonality.html">
MP3.com: Six Degrees of Tonality</A>
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