Tuning Gone Bad: The Outcome

Frances Helms fhelmsf@netscape.net
Tue, 28 May 2002 10:08:12 -0400


If the problem persists, you might (if you didn't already) check the plate for a tiny crack.  
Fran (KS)

"Farrell" <mfarrel2@tampabay.rr.com> wrote:

>Yes, not really, piano seems to be in one piece, chicken was great.
>
>I'm just going to lay low on this one and wait until they call - either in a week or two because it's way out of tune again, or if it holds......a couple of years when they normally tune again.
>
>Terry Farrell
>  
>----- Original Message ----- 
>From: "Z! Reinhardt" <diskladame@provide.net>
>To: <pianotech@ptg.org>
>Sent: Monday, May 27, 2002 4:26 PM
>Subject: Re: Tuning Gone Bad: The Outcome
>
>
>> Have you tightened all plate bolts?
>> 
>> Does the deviation from pitch get worse the farther away you get from the
>> plate struts?
>> 
>> Is there a possibility that the piano is delaminating?  Perhaps running a
>> few well-placed bolts completely through the piano in the pinblock area
>> could help mash things back together again.
>> 
>> Or is the rest of the piano flexing as the plate flexes, as in the wood
>> frame being more for decorative purposes than for structural support?
>> 
>> Now throw that chicken on the grill and open that bottle of wine.
>> 
>> Z! Reinhardt  RPT
>> Ann Arbor  MI
>> diskladame@provide.net
>> 
>> 
>> ----- Original Message -----
>> From: "Farrell" <mfarrel2@tampabay.rr.com>
>> To: <pianotech@ptg.org>
>> Sent: Saturday, May 25, 2002 10:57 PM
>> Subject: Tuning Gone Bad: The Outcome
>> 
>> 
>> Jimminy Gadzookas, that thar' pie-anner's got some problems.
>> 
>> I tuned this 1963 K&C 40" spinet three weeks ago. It was at pitch (I made
>> one quick pitch raise pass in the high treble) and I tuned it to A440. The
>> Pastor calls me a week ago and says the pianist said the piano has gone out
>> of tune in the middle area. I went out there today.
>> 
>> Bass: 2 cents flat. Tenor: most of it 25 cents flat - tapering to A440 pitch
>> at the break. Right back to 20 cents flat in the whole upper treble part.
>> Searched all over piano for cracked plate, lost backpost, etc. Everything
>> seems OK. Then I played 20 questions with Mr. Pastor Sir.
>> 
>> Turns out, the piano was moved the day before I tuned it (3 weeks ago) from
>> the old church building to the new church building. The new church has three
>> major AC units. Only one was going today, and it was nice an cool in there
>> (90 outside). I did not have a hygrometer to measure in the old and new
>> church, but I'm guessing that the old church is very high humidity, and the
>> new church is very low humidity. That may be the primary cause of the plain
>> wire sections of the piano to drop 20 cents.
>> 
>> But the piano was wierd. Bad wierd. I did a normal pitch raise, but the
>> center ended up 5 to 8 cents flat. I did a tuning pass, with pulling the
>> middle part up an extra cent or so to make all work out nice. The top half
>> of the middle section ended up 4 to 5 cents sharp. So I retuned that part
>> back down to pitch. Then the lower half of the middle section ended up 8
>> cents sharp! What's going on here!?!?!
>> 
>> Then I decided two things: 1) That thar' pie-anner's got some problems; and
>> 2) I had better go the the store and get a bottle of wine and some chicken
>> to grill. So I did. Problem solved.
>> 
>> Sumthin's screwy in St. Loui! I suppose I'll find out more about it next
>> time they call. Oh well, interesting experience. I had never seen a piano
>> change like that because of a presumed humidity change. Or maybe the plate
>> is made of rubber.
>> 
>> Well, that's all I know.
>> 
>> Back to leading keys.
>> 
>> Terry Farrell
>> 
>> 
>> 
>


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