[CAUT] huge pitch raise question

[Willem Blees]

Michelle

I do a pitch raise like Ken Z does it, except I use a 25% rule, but 
never more than that, regardless of how flat the pitch its. (I've had 
them as much as 250 cents low).

As far as breaking strings, I think that has more to do with the scale 
of the piano than the pitch raise itself. I've had pianos that were on 
pitch where a string broke just tuning it. I also don't think it has 
much to do with rust on the strings. Again, I've done pitch raises on 
rusty strings with no problem. 

Of course, we all know that WE don't break strings. As an old time 
tuner once told me, when a string breaks while we're tuning, it's a 
good thing we there to put on a new one, because it could have 
happened the next day.

Wim 
Willem Blees, RPT
Piano Tuner/Technician
School of Music
University of Alabama
Tuscaloosa, AL USA

Quoting Michelle Stranges <stranges at oswego.edu>:

> 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
> 
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