[pianotech] high and outside

[Duaine Hechler]

On 10/27/2012 11:16 PM, Ron Nossaman wrote:
>
> This morning, I tuned (at) a Whitney console. The lady said the last tuner had tuned it twice a couple of years ago. I 
> assumed it had needed a pitch raise. Inside, the card indicated a February 2010 date, and RH reading of 34%. I 
> stripped it up and found the center about 30¢ sharp! I couldn't see anything good coming of me trying to explain that 
> I needed to do a pitch lowering on a piano that had been pitch raised 2-1/2 years ago, so I just pressed on.
>
> As I went over the piano, I found the bass (all of it) slightly flat, the center 30¢ sharp, F-5 to F-6 almost on 
> pitch, suddenly going to well over a half semitone sharp from there on up. Bizarre! There is no way this piano was 
> anywhere near being in an acceptable state of tune when the last tuner left it. The uniformity of the aberrations 
> indicated that what was done was intentional, but I saw no sense at all to the pattern.
>
> Even being all wild strings in the top half, which is characteristic of the breed, it sounded a whole lot better when 
> I left it. Better than she's ever heard it, in fact. If she calls next year as I suggested, we'll both win.
>
> The kind of work that's being done out there scares me.
> Ron N
>
Not meant to start something......

However, I can see - no - way an ETD can do such a tuning. It almost - had - to be an aural tuning.

Or the piano reacted that bad.

Duaine

-- 
Duaine Hechler
Piano, Player Piano, Pump Organ - Tuning, Servicing & Rebuilding
(314) 838-5587 / dahechler at att.net / www.hechlerpianoandorgan.com
Home & Business user of Linux - 12 years