Greetings, It would be helpful to distinguish between test blows that are used to check the stability of a "set pin", and the "test blows" that accompany every move of the hammer. Bill Garlick taught that a light touch on the hammer while tuning, followed by a really sharp test blow was a proper way to tune. The tuning hammer hand should develope the finesse required to accomodate the pin torque, friction, and string movement while moving the pin and leave it so that there is more topstring than speaking length tension when the string is at pitch. Simple, eh? It can be, but sometimes it takes faith to stop pushing the hammer, hit the note a test note and move on. With repetition, the move to pitch can become near automatic, and the test notes may number 88 or so for an entire tuning, (rare). I have seen techs pounding the entire time they are moving the pin, using 10 or twelve "test blows" while they tune the string. This can wear the body and piano out. I think it is better to train the hammer hand to leave the string properly set, and just hit it once for insurance. If it consistantly goes out of tune when you hit it, reexamine how you are leaving the string, don't just pound down from somewhere sharp! regards, Ed Foote i was once a pounder, back when tunings were $25, ...... (I guess you could have called me a quarter-pounder?)
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