pitchlock followup 1

[Ed Sutton]

Hello everyone, too.

I've hesitated to post about pitchlock, as my results have been more
guarded. 

 I've installed tham on two verticals. That is much more clumsy than on
grands, as you must pull the action and work the clips down under the cross
strings.  To make any subtle adjustments, you would need to pull the action
as you voiced each note, hardly possible.

On a P-22, it does very well at reducing the sense of wa-waing unisons, but
there is a whiney sound, and uneven tone in a piano that I'd voiced very
carefully before installing the pitchlocks.  I don't really understand how
to retune it, since the pitchlocks tend to blend the out of tune unisons. 
There is a point where they don't work.  If the unison is at the edge of
the envelope, then it could drift out very quickly.  I find it difficult to
hear the "center" of the locked unisons.  

Nevertheless, I can imagine that in a practice room situation, this
instrument would be acceptable, and would seem to be in tune longer, though
it might be harder to retune when the tuning call came.

The other piano was a new Steinway 1098 with the worst false beats I have
ever heard in the first treble section.  The pitchlocks did not help, and I
found that trying to adjust pitch and tune through the false beats and
pitchlock was not working for me.  I removed the pitchlocks and tuned the
normal way.

I'm looking for a chance to try these gadgets on a grand piano.  Scott told
me that when you get the whining sound, you need to adjust the clip, which
will be a lot easier to do on a grand.  Perhaps with practice one can learn
to make the adjustments by sight on a vertical.

Ed Sutton

> [Original Message]
> From: Ron Koval <drwoodwind@hotmail.com>
> To: <pianotech@ptg.org>; <caut@ptg.org>
> Date: 6/7/2004 11:32:16 AM
> Subject: pitchlock followup 1
>
> Hello everyone.
>
> I had the chance to install the pitchlock system on two pianos at the
high 
> school last January. (both grands)  At that time, the humidity in the 
> building was measuring in the low 20's.  I've had a chance to return to 
> those pianos with the latest tuning round - current humidity leves in the 
> mid 50's.
>
> As expected, the clips don't have any effect on the large pitch shifts
due 
> to the humidity changes.  However, after checking with the staff, the 
> perception of staying in tune (due to cleaner unisons, hopefully) was 
> greater.  None of the staff was aware that I had done anything out of the 
> ordinary.  My initial doubt about the added work during pitch
adjustments?  
> Doesn't seem to be a problem.  After getting used to the "pitch drop 
> effect", tuning with an ETD worked out just fine.  I even found it
possible 
> to set the "free" string as a reference, and then tune the linked strings
to 
> the free strings without a mute.  It does take listening in a slightly 
> different way while tuning, but after playing with them for awhile, I
didn't 
> feel that it was a problem.
>
> Scott Jones, the inventor, presented at our monthly chapter meeting
earlier 
> this spring.  He gave us a little insight into the experimentation that
went 
> into the development, and urged us to continue to try different
techniques, 
> as the pitchlock system is very new.
>
> While there is a tonal difference that is heard just listening to the
linked 
> strings, the open string blends into the tone, making any difference hard
to 
> identify.  If anything, it might make a bright instrument sound a little 
> more mellow.
>
> At this point, I remain guardedly optimistic about the use of this new 
> technology.  I would find it especially appealing for clients that are 
> quickly bothered by unison drift, or for institutional instruments that 
> would benefit from more regular tuining.
>
> I'll keep the updates going as I have the opportunity to work with these 
> some more.
>
> Ron Koval
> Chicagoland
>
> _________________________________________________________________
> FREE pop-up blocking with the new MSN Toolbar – get it now! 
> http://toolbar.msn.click-url.com/go/onm00200415ave/direct/01/
>
> _______________________________________________
> caut list info: https://www.moypiano.com/resources/#archives