On Thu, Sep 30, 2010 at 5:19 PM, William Monroe <bill at a440piano.net> wrote: > Michael, > > Though some posters tend to word things rather strongly (as have you), I'd > suggest taking it in stride. Most of us have a hard time at one point or > another when our belief systems are questioned. > > You wrote: "I would gladly consider changing methods if Tom can explain > what has radically changed about piano tensions, soundboards, bridges, > strings & the climate affecting them over the last 41 years that would cause > me to." > > It's not the piano that has changed it's our understanding of and > application of the physics of pianos. The world used to be flat too. It > didn't change, our understanding did. Those who were entrenched in their > belief system accepted it much less rapidly than others. > > You wrote, "...premise about the drop being because of back scale tension I > find highly unlikely as I pound my tunings in, again an old habit I was > taught was best & that has served me well." > > Again, you seem to have a belief system that suggests that pounding in a > tuning stabilizes back scale tensions adequately. Ron (and others) believe > this to be a false premise. Simply believing that what you've done for your > entire career doesn't make it true. > > You wrote, "As for my comments about Protek, IMHO I got along without it > for the first 30 years of my career & after I purchased some I did not find > it to be the panacea that many others have. " > > No one is suggesting that Protek is a panacea. They (and I) firmly believe > it reduces friction at the capo and agraffes - I also use it on the Steinway > Ski Slope when it seems justified. It does reduce friction, simple as that, > and a reduction in friction of bearing points cannot do anything but reduce > the incidence of broken strings. No panacea, just judicious application of > modern materials. > > You wrote, "Obviously I'm totally wrong about strings stretching, that > would explain why none of us EVER has to return to touchup those new > strings. It also explains why we don't have to tune new or newly restrung > pianos any more often than old pianos. > I know there is the bending of/settling of the wire around the bridge > pins, agraffes, etc. sometimes for a year ot more but no stretching." > > I'm not sure if you are still being sarcastic or if you indeed are > recognizing that strings do undergo an initial stretch as they are brought > to a specified tension, but that continued stretching (creep) does not > happen in any measurable way without a corresponding increase in tension. > We do return to touch up the new string because of wire bending, (probably > primarily) and who knows what other forces/movements, but not string creep. > > Having said all this, I think many of us would do well to recognize that > when our belief systems (some long established) are being challenged, that > is a good thing. That is how learning and professional growth happen. It > doesn't mean we haven't been (or aren't continuing to do) great work. I > think most of us on this list are. But we certainly need to be open to new > thought, lest we stagnate into a puddle. ;-] > > William R. Monroe > William, I thank you for your good, reasoned words, I do believe there is truth in what others have said & my credo has always been that I have more to learn that if I stop learning I should find something else to do. I also believe however a 1/2 tone flat piano goes out of tune after the initial pitch raise, regardless of the number of passes & returning it to pitch & fine tuning in one sitting is not possible, except for a short term My point was that I spend time with my customers, I educate my customers, I don't leave them with the impression that they can ignore tuning their piano for 10 years or more & it can be rectified in an hour & 1/2. One of the techs in our chapter has done pitch raises on pianos in his shop & they don't drop in pitch over a month or so, he questioned the necessity of re-tuning, upon questioning it was revealed the pianos in question weren't played. The point is there are different situations we are discussing here, when I do the initial pitch raise, I encourage the customers to play the piano as much as possible. I've found I get a better finish tune when I return. I will consider what I have learned here, as I would expect others to consider what I have to offer. Mike I think we are a product of all our experiences. Sanford I. Weill<http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/s/sanfordiw283095.html> Michael Magness Magness Piano Service 608-786-4404 www.IFixPianos.com <http://www.ifixpianos.com/> email mike at ifixpianos.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: <http://ptg.org/pipermail/pianotech.php/attachments/20101001/40454479/attachment.htm>
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