Unstable C5 Grand

[Joseph Alkana]

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Benny,
Sounds like  real mystery. FWIW, I think maybe the strings are starting =
to "neck" at the rendering points. That is, thinning and stretching due =
to very aggressive playing that is probably going on. That and a host of =
other things like loose tuning pins or your hammer technique in setting =
pins with a"mushy" feel. Do you notice that this piano is hard to tune? =
Do you find that the tuning pins turn easily, but the string just =
doesn't seem to want to render (move thru bearing points), then it moves =
all at once, sometimes overshooting where you'd really like it to wind =
up? Typical of older Yamahas where the string is corroded and sticks on =
the under felt and everywhere else. The best way to set the string for =
this type of situation is to tune from the bottom, that is, bringing the =
pitch of the string up from below pitch to just exactly the place you =
want it to be. Never try to "bump" the string from above the correct =
place back down into place. It won't work. If the piano is sharp as most =
pianos near the end of the high humidity season are right now, you need =
to knock the strings below pitch, then bring them up as per above. You =
can try hosing down the area with Protec to lubricate the felt and =
bearing points but I have never had great success with that method. The =
piano with that condition really needs to be restrung.
Other things to explore: Broken or cracked strut (unlikely). Loose =
pinblock. Nah, whole areas would be going out of pitch and you didn't =
say that. Very high tuning pins in the block coupled with mushy tuning =
pin bushings. Are there tied strings in that area and are they =
unwinding? Try replacing a string and follow it closely for a few weeks. =
Could be the wire is just getting tired. :-)
Good luck, and let us know what seems to work out best in this =
situation. I for one, would really like to know.
Joseph Alkana  RPT
josephspiano@home.com
  ----- Original Message -----=20
  From: Benny L. Tucker=20
  To: pianotech@ptg.org=20
  Sent: Monday, September 17, 2001 7:20 PM
  Subject: Unstable C5 Grand


  Hi list;
      I am soliciting the advice of you piano tuning wizards to help me =
solve
  a tuning problem.
      Piano is a Yamaha C5 Grand, approximately 13 years old. In a large
  Baptist Church . There are 2 electric guitars and electric bass, full =
drum
  set and all amplifiers on stage and right behind the pianist. No =
humidity
  control system on piano. The problem is in stability of the unisons, =
but
  only in about a 1 or 2 octave area. It starts about 5-6 notes before =
the
  capo bar/plate strut up to about 5-8 notes above this strut.
      Now I'm not talking about perfect unisons starting to whine a =
little,
  I'm
  talking about unisons slipping out very badly. I have tried every =
trick I
  know,
  and I just can't get it to stabilize for more than a week. The strings
  "seem" to be
  rendering over the bearing points good. The tuning pins are tight =
enough.
  The pitch stays very stable on this piano, even without a DC system
  installed. The piano is very bright and needs voicing, but the music
  director
  likes this bright sound.
      If this sounds like a hammer technique or string setting problem, =
please
  respond with advice. I have tuned pianos all over the central Ga. =
area, and
  never had a
  call back, except for the recommended 6-month tuning. I feel my =
techniques
  are good,
  but any and all advice will be mostly appreciated. FWIW, I did lube =
the
  v-bar in this area
  with cpl, result=3Dno help.
      Thank you for allowing me to post to this list, and I look forward =
to
  many more conversations with you all.

      Benny L. Tucker






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