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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Hi, Michelle:</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2> Whatever technique you use, you
need to understand what is happening while you're turning the pins. Some
torque is always being forced into the pin while you turn it, and that torque
needs to be removed before you go on to the next pin. I'll bet you
have left too much torque in the pin, and this is causing the tension to
increase in that front segment.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2> I think you have found a way to
remove that excess torque, and that is to go down past the "spot where it needs
to be". You want the string to be at pitch, all the various segments at
equal tension. If the string tends to "climb" to the upside, you still
have to turn that pin counterclockwise until it doesn't. Sometimes you may
have to actually make your last little hammer movement to the upside, after you
went below. Do whatever works for you.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2> I found that if I "pound" the
string too much while trying to settle the pin, the string tends to climb
in pitch later. Therefore I don't pound much anymore. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2> Some pianos have more friction
on the bearing points, while some have less. Some have tight pins, some
have loose pins. Each situation, and combination of these, will need a
different technique. Some pianos have bearing bars which are coated
with laquer or other anti-corrosive substance which increases the
friction. I find this on a lot of Chinese pianos, and I sometimes use
Protek to help the string render across these friction points. I don't
service a lot of Yamahas, so I can't speak to your experience. I
generally find Yamahas to be tuner-friendly, for the ones I occasionally
tune.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2> Sometimes new tuners tend to
pull the string too far on the sharp side before putting it back down. Try
to pull the string just a little above, but not very much at all. If the
pin is tight, it's easy to pull it too far sharp before the pin actually
moves. That makes it hard to tune because you have to put it too far flat
to make it move back down. That may be part of your problem.
Some pianos are just hard to tune, period.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2> You need to control your hammer
with very tiny movements, and be sure that the pin actually moves in the
block. It takes time to learn to do this, so don't be discouraged.
Also, you will find that keeping the tuning hammer shaft parallel to the string
helps minimizing "flagpoling" or bending of the pin. Some tuners point the
shaft/handle towards you, over the stretcher (grands), and others (like me)
point it away. On verticals, that would be pointing your hammer straight
up, 12:00 position. That way you won't bend the pin and affect the
tuning. Of course, the pin is going to bend, regardless, but you want it
to bend left or right only. Bending forward or backward, the pin is going
to raise or lower the pitch. It is especially effective to have the
hammer parallel where there is less friction on the bearing points (like
agraffes). I often use a 45 degree angle in the capo area, because there's
more friction there, and it works to my advantage.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2> Basically, what I'm trying to
say is, you will have to find your individual technique for each
situation. If you find that special way that works for you, use it.
Put it in your bag of tricks. I know what works for me, and maybe it will
help. I know what I'm trying to achieve. I want the string to
resist the tendency to go flat when I give a hard blow, but I don't want it to
climb sharp either. Somehow I try to get the pin to have a little "reverse
torque" so it holds the string where I want it. It's something I've worked
out over many years. I use a little torque to insure the string isn't
going to go flat. I might even tap the end of the lever downwards
(grands) momentarily so it bends ever so slightly like a spring to hold the
string in tune, to set the pin. I never "bend" the pin so much that it
stays bent permanently. It would be that last bit of finesse needed
to lock in that unison, not a technique that I would use unless I was REAL
close already. Over the years, I've found this to be effective in
achieving stability in my tunings.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2> I hope this helps. Best of
luck.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2> Paul McCloud</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2> San Diego</FONT></DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE dir=ltr
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<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<DIV
style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: black"><B>From:</B>
<A title=michelle@cdaustin.com href="mailto:michelle@cdaustin.com">Michelle
Smith</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A title=pianotech@ptg.org
href="mailto:pianotech@ptg.org">'Pianotech List'</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Saturday, December 09, 2006 9:58
PM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Yahama tuning challenges</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV class=Section1>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">I’m probably opening up a huge can
of worms, but here goes! <o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">As a newbie tuner, I’m still
fascinated by the different tuning personalities of certain brands of
pianos. My current frustration is with Yamaha pianos, uprights and
grands. Techniques I use for other pianos just don’t seem to work
here. When tuning Yamahas, I do the typical approach from above,
carefully “notch tuning” until I get down to the correct pitch. Then I
let go and the darn thing goes sharp. I end up doing a little jig where
I approach from above, go past the spot where it needs to be, and then back up
again at which point it usually settles in nicely. Does this make any
sense at all?<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">The fact that the pitch goes back
up when I let go of the hammer makes me think that I am not settling the
bottom of the pin properly. I’m worried that my “jig” technique
described above it not going to produce a stable tuning. Any advice or
experiences on this particular brand?<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">PS – I was just looking in the
Different Strokes book by Ken Burton and the closest comparison I can find is
The Snake on page 59.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">By the way, my incoming server is
down right now so if you try to respond privately, it may
bounce.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
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<P class=MsoAutoSig><FONT face="Tempus Sans ITC" color=blue size=3><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: " ITC?;color:blue? Sans Tempus>Michelle
Smith<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoAutoSig><FONT face="Tempus Sans ITC" color=blue size=3><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: " ITC?;color:blue? Sans Tempus>Smith
Piano Service<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
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<st1:State w:st="on">Texas</st1:State></SPAN></FONT></st1:place><FONT
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<P class=MsoAutoSig><FONT face="Tempus Sans ITC" color=blue size=3><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: " ITC?;color:blue? Sans Tempus>(512)
466-0238<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoAutoSig><FONT face="Tempus Sans ITC" color=blue size=3><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: " ITC?;color:blue? Sans
Tempus>michelle@cdaustin.com<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
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