Broadwood Grand - A435?

S. Brady sbrady@u.washington.edu
Sat, 04 Nov 1995 09:00:47 -0800 (PST)


On Fri, 3 Nov 1995, John Musselwhite wrote:

> Here is an extract from an article in the Journal a few years ago about how
> pitch "standards" have changed... perhaps it might help?
>...
> 1879    A=449.7   London. Pitch of the Opera Orchestra at Covent
>                   Garden during performance
> 1879    A=454.7   London. Tuning fork used by Steinway & Sons to
>                   tune pianos in London.
> 1879    A=457.2   New York. From a tuning fork used by Steinway &
...

> That was a fascinating article... unfortunately it doesn't say which issue
> and who the author was in the bit I typed out back then.
______________________

      I believe the original source of this information on pitch
standards was Alexander Ellis's appendix to Helmholtz's "On the
Sensations of Tone." Ellis compiled an exhaustive table of pitch
standards through the years, only a fraction of which appeared in the PTJ
article. There is certainly no doubt that by 1884, Broadwood was tuning
to an A well above 440.
      All that aside, however, my experience with Broadwoods of that
vintage is that if you attempt to tune them even to A=440, you will most
likely break some strings. Try tuning it about 40 or 50 cents flat (A=430
or or 428). All this assumes original strings on the instrument. If you
restring, you'll be safe at 440. That is, the strings will be safe. The
structure of the instrument is another question. I can't remember if you
said whether the piano has a one-piece casting or a bolt-together frame.
If it's a bolt-together iron frame with an exposed pinblock, I wouldn't
pull it up to 440 even with new strings because the pinblock may not take
it. If a one-piece casting covering the pinblock, it still depends upon
te condition of the pinblock itself.
      Good luck!


Steve Brady, RPT        "The most expert and rapid tuners are...
University of Washington       possessed of a highly excitable,
sbrady@u.washington.edu        nervous, and emotional temperament,
                         verging on the border of insanity at times."
                              -Daniel Spillane, The Tuner's Guide





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