for those on the fence about hearing protection..

[David Ilvedson]

I think the db gauge would be a way to quantify pounding.   I'm planing looking at Radio Shack for a price.  I'm with you on the fortissimo blow.   Another to consider is the futile attempt to stabilize and piano after a big pitch raise.   You can't do it.   All you can do is get some semblance of stability and pounding the hell out of it won't help.  
Concert work shouldn't be dealing with pitch change or the piano isn't getting tuned well or enough.  I'm making changes in the 1 cent range with my concert instruments.   
I don't pound and they stay in tune and I don't put unnecessary wear and tear on the piano or me.

David Ilvedson, RPT
Pacifica, CA  94044

----- Original message ----------------------------------------
From: "Richard Brekne" <ricb at pianostemmer.no>
To: pianotech at ptg.org
Received: 3/26/2008 2:30:33 PM
Subject: for those on the fence about hearing protection..


>Hi JF

>I almost decided to drop a comment along the lines of  <<define 
>pounding>>, but then several of the more enthusiastic pro-pounding posts 
>have included comments along the lines of providing near nuclear blasts 
>to the keys... :)  Ok thats an over statement but when folks mention its 
>not too hard until you start breaking things, and that if you dont beat 
>it into tuning the pianist will beat it out of tuning then I kinda get 
>the idea one is talking about a fairly severe blow... something in the 
>neighborhood of an ffff+ thing I supose.  I seldom get above simple 
>fortisimo... that is to say a single solitary f.  My tunings hold up 
>extremely well.  And I am a long ways from the only tuner I am aware of 
>who has very stable tunings and does not bang away with heavy test blows 
>or in any sense of the word use test blows to bang the thing into tune.  
>The various pounding tools I've seen demonstrated on occasion just plain 
>scare me... but to each their own.

>All this said... I suppose it would be a good idea to somehow quantify 
>exactly how hard each of us hits when these discussions come up...as in 
>some kind of pounds quantity.  In the end tho..... you can indeed tune 
>with very quite blows and end up with very stable results if you just 
>develop your hand, arm and wrist technique appropriately.  I can do it, 
>and I've seen it done by more then a few others.

>Cheers
>RicB


>    Al and Ric,
>    We probably have different definitions of "pounding."

>    There was a tuner in the area that *every* strike was about as loud
>    as my
>    normal test blow (90-100 dB).  Then his test blows were even louder
>    than his
>    normal, which were louder than my test blow.

>    It's probably all in the definition.  I'm not a pounder by my friend's
>    definition, or by my own definition.  I might be by yours.  And as I
>    said
>    early on in this discussion, I'm always open to learning different
>    ways of
>    stabilization.   (Like using a hammer shank, which I brought up a
>    few years
>    back.  It works, but it's more cumbersome.)

>    --
>    JF