Fazer bridge? ahem...ahem..

[Richard Brekne]

Kristinn Leifsson wrote:

> Hey guys,
> thank you, but of course I know about humidity drop.
> Actually this piano was moved just a few weeks before I tuned it, but
> should have settled enough, at least we´re used to that here.
> I didn´t take readings, I normally don´t.  We have pretty steady heating
> here, geothermal ya know, but normally the indoors climate tends to be a
> tad dry.  There aren´t big swings in humidity as things go in regular
> houses here, at least compared to places where most of you are from.

Perhaps you should then... you would be suprised me thinks to see just how much the
humidity does swing inside. It dont have to be like this 60 % swing you see in some
places. 10-15 % is enough to get a piano moving.

>
> But what happened was that everything *except* the bass dropped.  Spot on,
> from the first bass note.
> The bass is still right up to pitch and in tune.
> And the rest of the piano is "relatively" in tune with itself, that is, the
> lowest tenor note upwards.  Did you get that?
> Why would a drop in humidity not affect the bass?  And don´t tell me it´s
> because of longer strings :-)

This is normal for a minor seasonal pitch change. Bass bridge is closer to the edge
of the soundboard and this area is less affected when the board is moving then
areas closer to the fat of the board. As for string length... I have heard that and
a few other causes... but the only one that makes a whole lot of sense to me is
this about the bass bridge being close to the edge.

Keep an electronic humidty reader in your toolchest. I have yet to experience a
house that had soooo even humidity readings throughout the year that a piano would
not be affected. In anycase your symptoms fit with a climate shift, and this is the
right time of the year for things to go in that direction.

>
>
> Many more thanks in advance,
>
> Kristinn

--
Richard Brekne
RPT, N.P.T.F.
Bergen, Norway