pitch lowering/strip mutes

[Billbrpt@aol.com]

In a message dated 5/29/98 11:00:54 AM Central Daylight Time,
HENRY_WEINFELD@hp-littlefalls-om1.om.hp.com writes:

<< Bill,
      
      I am new to the trade and have struggled with the muting strips 
      available through IPS and APS.  I was excited to find that there is 
      another solution .... action wippen cushion cloth.
      
      Would you be so kind as to tell me where I can get some, and what 
      dimensions that you have found to be useful.  Sometimes APS has items 
      that are not listed in their catalog... but I've found that they are 
      not the most helpful bunch of folks.  Do you have another supplier 
      that you like?
      
      Thanks in advance for the advise.
      
      Henry Weinfeld
      Wilmington DE
      
  >>

I generally use Schaff Piano Supply because it is fairly close to where I live
and the service is fast and friendly. However there are other suppliers who
have things that Schaff does not.  The action cloth I referred to will be the
same from APSC.

It is called, "abstract or sticker cloth" in the catelogue.  It is also the
same cloth as you see on the bottom cushion of grand wippens.  Cloth is
distinguished from felt by being woven rather than just compressed.  Cloth
will have a much longer life than felt and will not tear and get lumpy.  The
cloth will also fit better between the strings and not tend to choke some of
the middle strings off which you want to hear.

You need to get 4 strips.  They will send you a legnth all on one roll.  Cut
the roll in half, then take one of those and cut it in half again.  That will
give you two pieces about 42" in length.  Take the longer piece and from one
end, start cutting a taper that will run about 18".  Start at 1/4" wide and
run that 1/4" for about six inches then start tapering for another 12".  This
tapered end is for your tenor section in a vertical piano.

If you need a description of how to mute out an entire vertical piano, I or
Jim Coleman can write it up.  (He is the one I learned how to do it from).

I have been timing how long it takes me to mute off an entire vertical piano
which is what I customarily do twice with virtually every piano I tune.  It
takes me about one minute, give or take 5 to 10 seconds depending on the
particular piano.  I don't think there are many single mute tuners who can get
very far in that amount of time.

On any typical vertical piano, I spend about 45 minutes tuning it twice over
completely.  My tunings are always stable, with beautifully and artfully
constructed temperaments and precisely stretched octaves that make the piano
really sing.  The programs that I have stored in my Accu-Tuner allow me to do
in about 45 minutes that which might well take my 2 hours to do with the same
accuracy, precision and consistency that I could do if I were tuning entirely
by ear.

You will surely hear both sides of the story here on this List:  "To strip or
not to strip".  Both sides will tell you that the other guys are "wasting
their time".  You simply have to decide which makes sense and works for you.
I would have to say that if I tried to tune nearly any piano with a single
mute, it would take me far longer and I would truly be "wasting my time".

Bill Bremmer RPT
Madison, Wisconsin