pitchlock followup 1

[Ron Koval]

Hello everyone.

I had the chance to install the pitchlock system on two pianos at the high 
school last January. (both grands)  At that time, the humidity in the 
building was measuring in the low 20's.  I've had a chance to return to 
those pianos with the latest tuning round - current humidity leves in the 
mid 50's.

As expected, the clips don't have any effect on the large pitch shifts due 
to the humidity changes.  However, after checking with the staff, the 
perception of staying in tune (due to cleaner unisons, hopefully) was 
greater.  None of the staff was aware that I had done anything out of the 
ordinary.  My initial doubt about the added work during pitch adjustments?  
Doesn't seem to be a problem.  After getting used to the "pitch drop 
effect", tuning with an ETD worked out just fine.  I even found it possible 
to set the "free" string as a reference, and then tune the linked strings to 
the free strings without a mute.  It does take listening in a slightly 
different way while tuning, but after playing with them for awhile, I didn't 
feel that it was a problem.

Scott Jones, the inventor, presented at our monthly chapter meeting earlier 
this spring.  He gave us a little insight into the experimentation that went 
into the development, and urged us to continue to try different techniques, 
as the pitchlock system is very new.

While there is a tonal difference that is heard just listening to the linked 
strings, the open string blends into the tone, making any difference hard to 
identify.  If anything, it might make a bright instrument sound a little 
more mellow.

At this point, I remain guardedly optimistic about the use of this new 
technology.  I would find it especially appealing for clients that are 
quickly bothered by unison drift, or for institutional instruments that 
would benefit from more regular tuining.

I'll keep the updates going as I have the opportunity to work with these 
some more.

Ron Koval
Chicagoland

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