Cans of Worms, Pounded or Not

[Z! Reinhardt]

----------
> From: Delwin D Fandrich <pianobuilders@olynet.com>
> To: pianotech@ptg.org
> Subject: Some thoughts on a "can of worms"
> Date: Thursday, April 09, 1998 4:30 PM

> Just what is it that's supposed to be so terrible about opening a can of
worms. 
> 
> Regards,
> 
> Del

Mmmmm, Yum!  These worms have an interesting flavor.  Better left whole
than well-pounded.

For those of you interested in altering your tuning technique to be a
little friendlier to the piano, I recommend that you spend a little time
playing with an SAT or some other electronic device, if for no other reason
than to measure a pitch, then tracks what happens to it over a few seconds,
depending on what you did to tune that pitch in the first place.

I for one was taught to use firm test blows to stabilize a tuning,
something I found out early on was not always *practical* for any pianos
that had brittle parts.  The problem with these *gentler* tunings was that
they often had plenty of notes that needed more than a quick touching up. 
The first thing my SAT did when I got it 2 years ago was reveal that my
hammer technique was terrible, despite my reputation for being a solid
tuner.  Notes would begin to drift off pitch within a second of removing my
hammer from the pin.  OK, then it became a game of trying to make the pitch
stay put without resorting to test blows.  I must admit I have learned a
LOT from this, and I'm still refining the technique of setting the
pins/strings with the hammer alone.

My favorite acid test for tuning stability is to run a Disklavier through
its noisiest functions after I've done the tuning, then looking for any
slipped notes.  Those Disklaviers are capable of delivering the fiercest
test blows to themselves.  If a tuning can stand up to that, it can stand
up to virtually anything.

Have fun!
ZR!  RPT
Ann Arbor  MI
diskladame@provide.net