Knabe Tuning Mystery

[David Ilvedson]

Don't you think a dampchaser is in order?   That's the first thing I'd do

David Ilvedson, RPT
Pacifica, California



----- Original message ----------------------------------------
From: "Thomas Cole" <tcole@cruzio.com>
To: Pianotech <pianotech@ptg.org>
Received: 1/2/2006 9:58:56 PM
Subject: Knabe Tuning Mystery


>The piano is an 1895 Knabe, art case upright in exceptional but original 
>condition. The problem is tuning instability. I tuned it one year ago 
>along with a Schimmel grand in the same room. The Schimmel sounded 
>beautiful today, so much so that I declined to tune it. But the Knabe 
>has become unplayable and out of tune in way I've never seen before.

>Because of heavy rains, the humidity is higher than when I last tuned 
>the Knabe (72%). I noticed the tenor strings were a little sharp, 
>getting sharper at the tenor/treble break. Then the treble started out 
>+25 cents and the top few notes were at or near +50 cents. Bass was 
>slightly sharp.

>The owner says that the Knabe tuning never lasts more than two or three 
>weeks. He plays it much more than the grand, so this is a factor, but he 
>is not a heavy player. The owner wants to restring, because strings are 
>starting to break, but not change the soundboard. The board, bridges and 
>pins look like new, but I was not able to check crown (owner afraid of 
>hardwood floor damage if I move it).

>How can I find out what is causing this tuning instability? Why would 
>the tuning go so sharp in the treble, as opposed to the tenor where you 
>would expect? Can anything be done in the course of a restringing to 
>improve stability?

>Tom Cole
>on the Left Coast

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