[pianotech] pitch raises

[Paul Williams]

That's a good way to start, too.

I only jolt down the bass strings to loosen up crust at the termination points, but then bring them right up to pitch..  Usually, the bass is the last to go flat by my experience. I first find out where the a-440 should be and do a listening test from there to top and then bottom.  Sometimes, the bass is pretty close, like only 20 cents flat in the extreme cases. In the worst cases, I'll pull up the tension by octaves to even out the tension throughout the piano. Good for the plate tension distribution..at least was told that.years ago.made sense to me. I know this takes longer, but the tunings in the end are pretty solid. Again, I'm still in the dark ages using my ears.  ETD's are soon to come. Still good to do it this way with ETD's.  You'll know right away if it can't handle it. This can all be done in 2 hours if your sell your work by a 2 hour visit.

After pulling it up to pitch and over by 20 cents (again, if it can handle it) then set the A at 442, do a regular pitch raise and then tune fine tuning at 440 and it's pretty solid.

I know others do it their way, but have at it.  I never got a complaint after I was done.  Thank God I don't have to do this any more!  Now I whine when the humidity quickly dries up and the Steinway B in room 110 and is down 15 cents!  Waaaaaah!

Paul




From: Leslie Bartlett <l-bartlett at sbcglobal.net<mailto:l-bartlett at sbcglobal.net>>
Reply-To: "pianotech at ptg.org<mailto:pianotech at ptg.org>" <pianotech at ptg.org<mailto:pianotech at ptg.org>>
Date: Monday, October 29, 2012 7:23 PM
To: "pianotech at ptg.org<mailto:pianotech at ptg.org>" <pianotech at ptg.org<mailto:pianotech at ptg.org>>
Subject: Re: [pianotech] pitch raises

On major pitch raises (100 cents) I also start in the top section then go to the bottom, so that I have sort of guessed myself into a modest pitch range, thus not needing to nearly as much overpull as simply starting at the bottom and going all the way up.  I never set the bass at more than +6 cents over pull, and things seem to work decently most of the time. Les bartlett

________________________________
From: pianotech-bounces at ptg.org<mailto:pianotech-bounces at ptg.org> [mailto:pianotech-bounces at ptg.org] On Behalf Of Paul Williams
Sent: Monday, October 29, 2012 3:58 PM
To: pianotech at ptg.org<mailto:pianotech at ptg.org>
Subject: Re: [pianotech] pitch raises

Indeed!  Never tell a customer that "you" broke a string!  Then, they'll claim you broke it and won't pay you for the repair! DAMHIK!!!!

If I see a lot of rust on strings, or if it hasn't been tuned for many years, I will warn them that one or more might break, and it's not my fault and will result in a repair!!

Hint: if tuning a very flat piano, go through the bass strings first, giving them a jolt DOWN in pitch before bringing them up to a tunable pitch.  Again, DAMHIK!!

Paul


From: Marshall Gisondi <pianotune05 at hotmail.com<mailto:pianotune05 at hotmail.com>>
Reply-To: "pianotech at ptg.org<mailto:pianotech at ptg.org>" <pianotech at ptg.org<mailto:pianotech at ptg.org>>
Date: Monday, October 29, 2012 3:37 PM
To: "pianotech at ptg.org<mailto:pianotech at ptg.org>" <pianotech at ptg.org<mailto:pianotech at ptg.org>>
Subject: [pianotech] pitch raises

Hi Cy,
I learned at the school that piano techs don't break strings, that rather strings can break during tuning.  So to answer your question, during a pitch raise I never break strings, but on a couple rare occasions a string couldn't handle the tension. :-)  I will admit however I do pray during a lot of them especially on old pianos and spinets.
Marshall

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