Hello List and Alan B - who was so bold as to state that there are more ways of killing a cat (I think that's right!) something to do with cream... At least, that was the gist of it. Good for you Alan. We all have our little foibles, our little religions and we are all sure we all do it the right way. By "it" I mean tuning and action work. There was me the other day lambasting all and sundry about excessive use of computer tuning devices instead of using the ears we were given and trusting in them. I fully subscribe to that obviously. Others go the way of thumping bridge pins or wrest pins or doping hammers or doping wrest pins or extracting bridge pins and re-inserting them in a goo or glue...and needling deep and shallow on the striking point or under it.... At the end of the day if the piano turns out not only as you feel it ought to but to the clients' satisfaction, then everyone is happy... No-one should thump the drum and say "you're wrong!" There's a little bit of right in all we do otherwise we wouldn't all still be in business. Anyone heard from Isaac Oleg lately? And this is where the List comes in. On it we broadcast our questions and we try and answer these in the way we honestly feel (I hope!) and the Tuning World is a better place for it. There's a lot of answers out there to many problems - each of us has an answer to many of them and those answers may indeed be in conflict. We presume that all those giving those answers are giving them in the spirit (here we go - religion again!) of passing on experience having "been there and done that and this is the way I did it" Good show! Here's a strange thing.... If you play M10 chromatically in a bass-wards direction on a well tuned piano and the bottom note goes into the bass covered section, like as not the beat-rate will suddenly change in one piano. Do the same in another with the same criteria and the beat-rate may not change - that is it may continue to gradually slow down in accordance with the frequencies involved and the twelfth root of 2. The better the piano the more linear the change, the covered section making no difference to that expected change. Ever noticed that cats have holes in their fur just where their eyes are? I planted two Silver Birch trees in my garden today and already they're twelve feet tall... My way of keeping green... Regards from a balmy Summer evening in the Downland Village. Michael G.(UK) ----- Original Message ----- From: "Alan Barnard" <tune4u@earthlink.net> To: "Pianotech" <pianotech@ptg.org> Sent: Monday, June 20, 2005 4:26 AM Subject: Piano Religion ... was Pitchlock > Just returned from KC and was interested in the comments below. I was in > classes and conversations with some of our most experienced > rebuilders/voicers/concert prep types, etc., and wish to comment on an > observation. I mean this to be light--and certainly not offensive--but not > quite tongue-in-cheek, either, because there is a serious side to it ... > > One person taught: ABSOLUTELY, always seat the strings on the bridge > (light > taps, rubbing, pushing with material softer than string steel, etc.). > Another said: ABSOLUTELY, always give all the bridge pins a judicious tap > or two before you even think about tuning or voicing. Ron says: No way to > either procedure, and I think others agree with him. > > One said: NEVER EVER "cross stitch" voice under the strike point. Another > said: BY ALL MEANS, needle this felt. Some said: Use steam, use pliers, > use > alcohol/water. Others: NO NO NO NEVER. One said he only uses lacquer, > another said he never uses lacquer (takes too long to dry and much too > long > to stabilize), always use plastic/acetone. Most people say: NEVER deep > needle the strike point and rarely sugar it. One said, basically, Have at > it! and proceeded to demonstrate it on a new hammer in a new Kawai > grand--deeply, aggressively and vigorously, too! > > I spent 3 hours with Virgil Smith, a treat. Very interesting and a > delightful person. Some think he's something of a mystic in his approaches > to tuning, and don't subscribe to them. > > Anyway, I used to think our business was about 1/2 art and 1/2 science; > but > no more. I am now convinced it's about 1/3 art, 1/3 science, and 1/3 > religion! > > By the latter, I mean that people practice what they BELIEVE to be true > art > and what they believe to be true science; what they have faith in because > of their own experience and their faith in the people they learned it > from. > Others--of different piano religions--believe other things, often > radically > contrary. > > And there is NOT -- as our Internet discussion about "where the flatness > goes" proved -- a sufficient body of scientific study, or even collected > empirical data, to prove or disprove anybody's piano religion. > > Nor is there anything approaching artistic consensus on many, many topics > that are really quite important. So we have little that can be described > as > uncontested orthodoxy in piano belief--with the possible exception that > soaking a piano in a pond is generally agreed to be a bad idea unless the > words "Winter & Sons" appear on the fallboard. > > I find this fascinating. People trying to learn the craft over many years, > have surely been frustrated that the path to enlightenment has so many > forks in it! > > The saddest thing is that sometimes, as among all religions, hard feelings > are often harrowed up and much bitterness has arisen, over the years, > between people who should be friends and collegeaues. > > BTW, Scott would disagree with some of the Pitch-Lock comments that have > been posted lately. For one thing, they would tell you to fix the > string/bridge problems, etc., and only use the clips to fix bad string > matching, mysterious falseness, and other nasties that won't go away after > all else is tried. > > Alan Barnard > Salem, Missouri > > P.S.B.S. If nominated, I will not run for Piano Pope; if elected, I will > not serve. I would, however, wear the cool hats. > > >> [Original Message] >> From: Ron Nossaman <rnossaman@cox.net> >> To: Pianotech <pianotech@ptg.org> >> Date: 06/18/2005 10:17:50 PM >> Subject: Re: Pitchlock >> >> >> > Has anyone had experience with the pitchlock devices. It sounds like >> > something that would help with some wild bass strings, and maybe even >> > some false beating treble strings. However the startup cost is pretty >> > hefty. Not bad if it does what it says, but I thought I might inquire >> > from the list first. >> > Any thoughts?? >> > >> > Ed Carwithen >> > John Day, OR >> >> >> No experience, but coupling a flagpoling bridge pin to another pin >> by a pitchlock staple pretty much has to limit the flagpoling that >> causes the false beat. Short of actually fixing it, this is likely a >> quick, non destructive alternative. WAY better than seating either >> strings or pins. >> >> My call >> >> Ron N >> _______________________________________________ >> pianotech list info: https://www.moypiano.com/resources/#archives > > >
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