[pianotech] Becket Alignment - sub-topic of Tuning pin height

David Skolnik davidskolnik at optonline.net
Mon Oct 5 09:14:02 MDT 2009


Just for my own aligntenment,  is it assumed that beckets, acceptably 
aligned in initial installation, will remain so through subsequent 
chipping and tunings?  What would represent an acceptable range of 
degree variation for those who profess to strive for 
uniformity?    Is there a preferred positioning?  How do we 
distinguish number of coils?  Is 1 coil established as soon as the 
active length of wire is tangent to the becket exit hole?

Most importantly, how do I achieve the right balance between 
maintaining becket alignment and tuning requirements?  [your e-con here]

David Skolnik  RTT
Hastings on Hudson, NY



At 10:07 AM 10/5/2009, you wrote:
>I suppose there could possibly be a job where you have to choose between
>cosmetics, charges that compromise the payer's ability to pay the mortgage
>and some more important functional details, but most of the time you don't.
>I don't think we were ever really talking about lining up beckets versus
>regulating the action properly.  Neither, of course, does not perfectly
>aligned beckets mean that the rest of the job was crap.  But 99% of the time
>you can pay attention to all the functional and performance aspects AND the
>cosmetic details that make the job look just that much nicer.  I don't see
>it as a compromise nor should those who pay attention to the beckets and
>other cosmetic details be indicted for necessarily leaving other more
>important aspects undone.
>
>David Love
>www.davidlovepianos.com
>
>
>Yes, I am aware of that. I work both sides of the fence - I am only
>half-time at the University and have only been there for about the last
>5 years of my career. What bothers me about all this is there IS that
>time pressure on the private practitioner - from the client who wants
>his/her instrument back and from the need to pay the mortgage at some
>point. And guess what one is working on when that time pressure comes -
>voicing and regulation. And so more often than not I see all the fussing
>has been done early in the process - when the cosmetic stuff is being
>done - and the latter, functionally critical stuff gets shorted. It's
>really easy to talk yourself into believing that the piano plays and
>sounds fine (especially when the regulating is done by formula and not
>on the basis of function - but that's an entirely different discussion).
>Not that I am complaining - I have made plenty money re-regulating and
>revoicing some of those "purty" pianos over the years. It's just not
>good for the profession when people find out that those very expensive
>nice-looking "fully rebuilt" pianos aren't what they are cracked up to
>be... I just hate it when people generalize about workmanship on the
>basis of insignificant cosmetic details.
>
>Israel Stein

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