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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>The "Aliquot" string is not struck and =
is therefore
not at the fore of the sound you hear when playing a note. It is damped =
- by a
little damper felt stuck on the side of the damper head. It is above (in =
height)
its companion strings. It does not share the bridge but has its own =
indivual
"bridge" of a slender upright with a hole through which the Aliquot =
string
passes. It starts in the middle and goes right to the top - BUT the top =
break is
the only area where they are "tuned" at the same pitch as their partner =
strings.
he main body of Aliquot strings are tuned an octave high. I only use one =
rubber
wedge and, so long as the Aliquots are not wildly out, leave them alone. =
I do,
however, check them using a guitar plectrum and correct as
required.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Regards from a pouring wet rainy dark =
night in
Sussex.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Michael G.(UK)</FONT></DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE
style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; =
BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<DIV
style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: =
black"><B>From:</B>
<A title=skline@peak.org href="mailto:skline@peak.org">Susan =
Kline</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A =
title=pianotech@ptg.org
href="mailto:pianotech@ptg.org">Pianotech</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Saturday, July 30, 2005 =
9:26
PM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Re: Bluthner =
Tuning</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>At 01:05 PM 7/30/2005 -0400, you wrote:<BR>
<BLOCKQUOTE class=cite cite="" type="cite"><FONT face=arial =
size=2>I just
booked a first-time tuning for a Bluthner grand (first time for me =
to tune
it). It is said to be about 55 years old. Is this piano likely to =
have the
4th string aliquot system up in the high treble? If so, is there any =
special
tuning techniques for it? I've never tuned one of these. Just pluck =
it and
tune it beatless with the other three strings of each
note?</FONT><BR> <BR><FONT face=arial size=2>Terry
Farrell</FONT></BLOCKQUOTE><BR>Hi, Terry. <BR><BR>Not sure how much of =
the
piano would have the fourth string, but probably a lot of the treble. =
I've
only tuned newer ones, which don't start the fourth string till the =
high
treble. After a pretty short time, tuning the fourth string feels =
natural
enough. <BR><BR>It takes two wedges. Keep the fourth string muted, and =
tune
the other three to as clear a unison as you can, like usual. I found =
that the
three-string unisons on Blüthners are very, very clear, almost
colorless-clear. Then, remove the last mute, and you'll probably hear =
the
unison get angry, more in timbre than in beats. I tune the fourth =
string
without plucking it, but barely moving the wire, and try to calm the =
unison
again. It usually will get better, but with a more complex tone than =
the three
main strings alone. Then I pluck the fourth string to be sure it isn't =
some
screwy place, like on a different note. If I can't get the unison to =
clear
after I've added in the fourth string, I'll pluck the fourth string to =
find
out which way to move it, and then tinker a little when it's very =
close to the
other three, tuning for tone quality. <BR><BR>I found that once you =
get the
section settled down, and the unisons tuned for timbre like this, that =
the
fourth string actually seems to add some tuning stability. =
<BR><BR>Have fun --
it's kind of a neat system, really. I don't think that the fourth =
string is
for volume. I think that the more complex, less crystalline sound =
sustains
better. <BR><BR>Susan Kline </BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>