Hey, Michelle, Since I learned the true facts about what goes on during a pitch raise at Convention lo these many years ago (a Don Mannino class, as I recall), I have always raised pitch all at once. Only one proviso: I never go more than 30 cents sharp, regardless of how flat the piano started out. That's just my own safety margin. Of course, this presupposes that I have already decided that the strings & structure can stand the stress. I don't recall any particular problem as you describe. It may have happened once or twice in 15 years, but certainly no pattern. My interesting finding: it seems that the "percentage overpull" formula works great up to 100 cents, but when I raise a piano a whole step or even a minor third, it seems to usually come out just as close to pitch with "only" a 30-cent overpull as do lesser pitch raises with the usual percentages (I use 10% bass, 25% tenor, 30% treble). Diminishing returns, or something like that. I share your "flat then sharp" habit, and I think it's a very good habit. There's nothing quite like the cold, slimy feeling of realizing that (1) I forgot to go flat first, and (2) I just pulled the string sharp but the pitch didn't change. This is generally followed a fraction of a second later by the sound of a breaking string. I hate it when that happens! I am also a jerk tuner. Don't believe me? Ask my wife! :-) Seriously, when I do a big pitch raise, I usually bring the string up in 15-25 cent jumps. Regards, Ken Z. On 1/8/07 1:06 PM, "Michelle Stranges" <stranges at oswego.edu> wrote: > Hi folks- > > Happy New Year! > > :D > > It happens more often than I'd like (and once is enough to be honest) > and while I "feel" that it's not my lovely hammer technique ;) , > maybe it's something to do with some sort of "string thing".. > > Has anyone else run across this? > (Or maybe a PTG article I have overlooked?) > > Upon visiting a fairly new piano and finding it dreadfully flat (50 > cents or more) , I carefully yet quickly, raise it up at least half > of what it was. > And I do have a (good?) habit of initially moving the pin in the flat > direction before moving it sharp in order to loosen any friction from > any rust or whatever that may have accumulated. Just a *quick* jerk > to the left- nothing serious at all. > > Now.. having raised the piano up (with a second pass to at least get > it up to pitch) I start doing a "fine tuning". > > it is either at this second pass or my fine tuning where strings > start to break. > In the usual places too- nothing out of the ordinary. > > (Am I doing "too many tunings" (up to 3 times) to raise this > completely up? Seems like that wouldn't be an issue, especially if > it's new(er)? > Have I introduced some sort of unusual friction/heat or something?? > > > Now this doesn't happen all of the time, but I am acutely aware that > it could and I wonder if there's something in my technique or my > sequence of pitch raising that makes these newer strings break. (I > could understand some strings breaking if the piano was older..) > > I know tuners who on the first go, bring the whole piano up tp pitch > but I've always been a little leary of that. > I'm wondering if they also have strings break on their second pass/ > fine tuning.. > > I fully realize that they (the strings) are now at different spots on > all of the contact and termination points so I would assume that > would add to the puzzle. > And I'd like to also add that it seems that the tork alone on this > 1/2 way-to-pitch, pitch raised piano feels MUCH higher than it did > before (and more than "normal") and I chalk that up to the higher > tension I have just introduced. > > I am a jerk tuner. > > (Stop laughing :) > > I would be VERY interested in viewing the number of passes you folks > do to bring a piano up to pitch and whether or not you've > experienced this-especially on ones that aren't so old. > > Hope this post reads OK- and I look forward to your responses! > > :) > Michelle -- Ken Zahringer, RPT University of Missouri School of Music
This PTG archive page provided courtesy of Moy Piano Service, LLC