[pianotech] String Leveling question

[Joe DeFazio]

Hi Jim,

The area where I notice the most annoying string leveling problems on  
spinet and  console pianos tends to be in the wound bichords.

And, as for string leveling techniques on spinets and other vertical  
pianos:

The next time you tune such a beast, if you happen to notice either  
that a certain bichord unison does not tune cleanly, or that it has a  
"whiny" timbre that doesn't match its neighbors, go ahead and lightly  
push the hammer towards the string (with the sustain pedal down to  
lift the damper), and, as you hold it lightly against the pair of  
strings, pluck them individually, comparing plucked sounds.  If the  
muted sound that arises from the two plucks does not match, level the  
strings either by pushing in the string that is sticking out (the  
notch in the end of Don Mannino's T-shaped stringing hook works well  
for this - thanks, Don!), or by pulling out the string which is  
farthest in, using a stringing hook.  I usually prefer to push, but  
sometimes in extreme cases it may be best to "split the difference"  
and do a little pushing and pulling  (no comment from the wise guys in  
the peanut gallery!).  It is best to do your pushing and/or pulling on  
the unwound portion of the string near the upper termination.  Repeat  
your hammer pushing/plucking procedure to see if the two muted plucks  
match timbrally and in terms of sustain.  If not, try leveling again.   
If the plucked sounds now match, readjust your unison tuning, and  
listen for what is probably a noticeable improvement in the unison  
quality and the timbre of that note as compared to its neighbors.   
This might take a few minutes at most.

Of course, some bichords do not match each other for other reasons,  
such as mismatched speaking lengths, errors in string fabrication,  
bridge problems, and the like.  So, this is no panacea, but it can  
make a real difference.  I'll also mention that, since the hammers are  
exposed on an upright, you can accomplish a similar result by filing  
the hammer until it matches both strings (or the three strings of a  
trichord) using the same plucking test, instead of leveling the  
strings.  This might be advisable in certain cases where the dampers  
are old and crusty, and you are afraid that they might not damp well  
after fooling with the string level....

In discussing my friend who is obsessive about string leveling, I  
should have said that he listens for string leveling problems in 100%  
of his tunings, and usually takes action to correct them when he  
notices them, which is often.  However, a lightly played and regularly  
serviced piano won't show obvious string leveling problems with every  
tuning, so it's not true that he is actually leveling strings at  
nearly 100% of his tunings, just that he is listening for it and is  
willing to correct it at almost every tuning.

I think that my last post got a little sanctimonious, so, I'll say  
about my own string leveling practice:  I went back and listened to a  
recording for which I prepared the piano, and I can hear unlevel  
strings in one exposed passage!  Ouch!  Guess I didn't get 'em all....

Joe DeFazio
Pittsburgh



> From: JimWilsonian at aol.com
> Date: March 9, 2009 12:23:43 AM EDT
> To: pianotech at ptg.org
> Subject: Re: [pianotech] String Leveling question (Joe DeFazio)
> Reply-To: pianotech at ptg.org
>
>
>> One of the very finest concert tuners I know levels strings at  
>> nearly 100% of his tunings, and I really do mean on Whitney  
>> spinets...
>
>
> Well that certainly is dedication to one's craft!  It does make me  
> ponder precisely what techniques he might have employed to do this  
> on a spinet.
>
> Jim
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