Hi Steve: I use a split mute for tuning vertical pianos. You know, the kind with the blue steel flat handle? This works fine if you tune the unisons to the center string by ear. You only move the mute once for each note. For a vertical, place the short side of the split wedge on the right side of the unison and the thicker longer point of the wedge on the left side of the unison. If you wish to tune each individual string with the machine, then you can make a split wedge out of a standard 1/2" wedge with wire handle. With this you can rotate the wedge easily for muting off each side string as you need to. After tuning the center string (as above), use the short side to mute off the right two strings while you tune the left side string, then rotate the wedge to block off the left two strings while you tune the right string. For the few notes above the treble plate strut where there is little space above the dampers, you can reach in and raise three dampers at a time to place the plit wedge back underneath the dampers. This procedure is simpler than trying to use two wire handled wedges. Jim Coleman, Sr. On Wed, 1 Jan 1997, Stephen F Schell wrote: > Dear Phil and List, > > > > Here's my usual tuning routine for grands: install a strip mute in the bass (and tenor, if there are wound unisons). If working from a stored memory tuning, tune one string per note from A0 up to the first plain wire unison. > > > > > To tune in the plain wire sections, working from left to right, use > two rubber grand wedge mutes. Install them on either side of the first unison, which mutes the outside strings. Tune the center string, then move > the left mute between the center and right strings. Tune the left > string, then move the right mute over a complete unison and move the > left mute between the left and center strings. Tune the right string, > then pull the left mute and listen to the open unison. If it is not > really clean something has moved; most likely the center string has gone > a bit flat from all the pounding and commotion. Retune as necessary then > install the left mute to the right of the right string of the unison you > just tuned, which now has the mutes ready for you to tune the center string of the next unison. Continue in a similar fashion to note 88, then > pull the strip and tune the wound string unisons aurally. Phew. This > very simple procedure just took more words to describe than I would have > thought possible! > > One needs to be careful not to jam the mutes in with force, as damage will occur to the damper > felts, especially in the trichord section. I generally just set them in > place and let gravity settle them in as the notes are played. > > > To maximize stability, I generally strike a hard settling blow, followed immediately by a soft blow to observe the display on the SAT. I'm looking for a stable pattern that doesn't start drifting fl at > > , although it may drift sharp one > LED's worth then drift back and stabilize. The string should withstand > another hard blow or two without moving, and if I am confident of it's > stability, I move on to the next string. One lesson learned from fussy > unison tuning with the machine, though, is that there is really no such thing as stability in an absolute sense. If you hit a string hard enough, > long enough, it will move, so we shouldn't torture ourselves. > > > One > step which pays dividends is to tap the strings to the bridge before > tuning. At a minimum, I tap the strings on the speaking length side from > where the tenor bridge emerges from under the bass bridge on up to note > 88. This cleans up the sound, lessening false beats and making unison purity much easier to attain. > > I haven't > figured out a way to mute a vertical to tune single strings with speed > and efficiency, as the mutes are difficult to put in place, fall out frequently, etc. Does anyone have a method that works well? > > > > Steve Schell > > stfrsc@juno.com > > > On Wed, 01 Jan 1997 12:14:34 -0500 pjames@gzinc.com (Ryan, Philip) writes: > >Dear Steve, > > > >Enjoyed your comments to TunerJeff on his case of accuholism. Agree > >with your kindly and well-choosed words to accutuners like myself. I > >have always tuned unison on plain wire strings by ear, but would like > >to > >follow your advice on individual string unisons. My question is how > >do > >you mute the side strings efficiently when tuning each string by > >itself? > >Any advice? > > > >Thanks, > >Phil Ryan > >Associate, PTG > > > >Stephen F Schell wrote: > >> > >> Dear Jeff and List, > >> > >> > >> > >> Congratulations on Santa's thoughtful baby blue gift! I'm sure that > >you > >> will find that, over time, that it is truly "the gift that keeps on > >> giving". I really enjoyed your comments, as many of them rang true > >and > >> are probably almost universal. > >> > >> I agree with > >your > >> comments about the high quality unisons possible with the SAT. I > >have > >> been tuning all plain wire unisons one string at a time for about > >five > >> years now. You seem worried about achieving good stability. I think > >that > >> , with practice, your stability may actually improve. Mine sure has. > >You > >> can blast away on that single string until you are confident that it > >is > >> stable, and at the pitch you intended for it, not the pitch the > >> reference string has drifted to while you were tuning the unison. I > >> still tune all wound string unisons by ear, however. These unisons > >> generally have much more disagreement among the different partial > >levels > >> than plain wire unisons, and as you said, the SAT can only listen to > >one > >> partial at a time. > >> Enjoy your new SAT, TunerJeff, and please let us know how > >> things work out. > >> > >> Steve Schell > >> > >> stfrsc@juno.com > >> > > >
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