Robert - As you see, to get the most of inquiries you post, you have to be proactive. Most of the responses thus far address your tagged-on question about humidity control rather than dust control of the shop setting. Since Fred and Alan (and others) ...
Are there existing smartphone apps that do the following? Upon phone start-up the app sends a user-customizable email to a user-specificed address via local wifi. Upon appearance of a "battery low" warning, the app sends a user-customizable email ...
Patrick, Did you carefully check if the replacement flanges had dimensional specifications exactly as the original Yamaha? The slightest difference could make for a noticeable touch change. The last time (3 years ago) I purchased Yamaha flanges they ...
This is what I initially thought as well, but I figured if I reworked it and took it back that might "fix it". ------------------------------ Patrick Greene OWNER Knoxville TN (865) 384-6582 ------------------------------
I agree with Wim that if one is driving the pin into the block the same distance between the bottom coil and the plate, there will be less pin foot inside the block with 4 coils as opposed to 3, with the same overall pin length. If one uses the becket ...
Dylan, thanks for bringing this up. Years ago a mechanical engineer told me that the bearing points act as pulleys but didn't explain it. It shows how changing the angle of a string over a bearing point can have significant effect, thus the importance ...
Just to weigh in in support of what Fred said about controlling the room being the way to go… We have four MIDI grands. We have had humidistats and drying rods on them ever since they arrived on campus, decades ago, to try and lower the ceiling on moisture ...
Patrick I don't think the length of the butt cord, or spring loop as we also call it, had anything to do with having the action feel "restrained". I think what she was feeling was the hammers coming back faster than before, when the spring loops ...
This goes in the category..lesson learned..and also "have a slice of humble pie". So a customer asked me to repair her 45 year old Yamaha console action..all the hammer return springs were "popped up". I have done several of these over the years and ...
Hey all, I tuned once for George Winston. He thanked me in front of the audience for my work. I had to touch up unisons during intermission...(a very demanding but nice man) It was fun to get some recognition! Paul
The reason is related to final tuning pin height being as uniform (visually) as possible. In the upper 2 sections where the wire is much thinner, if you only do 3 coils you'll have to drive your tuning pin lower in order for the string that leaves the ...
David No, she did not get a "curtain call". She didn't even come on stage. In past piano concerto performances, she would come on stage after the piano was put in place to touch up a few unisons. But she didn't do that, this time, even after ...
That's nice. Wonder if she felt any additional stress after such exposure. Did she get a 'curtain call'? For some of us, the perfect concert 'prelude' would have been a paid listening to the tuning. I said "for some". ------------------------------ ...
Last night my wife and I attended a concert of the Jacksonville Orchestra conducted by its Music Director Courtney Lewis. On the program were three pieces for two pianos, featuring husband and wife Alessio Bax and Lucille Chung. The two of them gave a ...
Hi Garret, I tuned the pianos six or more times a year. The two grands with systems installed, Steinway Bs in the head piano prof's office, would typically have a pitch change that would be 25¢ sharp after the summer RH rise to 60% around the beginning ...
Hi Fred In your particular case, how frequently did/do you see the piano and what is the expected cent/pitch deviation? - Garret ------------------------------ Garret Traylor Trinity NC (336) 887-4266 ------------------------------
Robert, You also asked about humidity control. In my own experience with Dampp-chaser systems I found that they were not very effective in controlling RH associated tuning swings, particularly in grands. I did find that installing just a low RH humidistat ...
Out of sheer curiosity I poked my head inside one of three SS uprights here (currently with its original stringing 1901) and found 4 coils each in the top two treble sections, and 3 coils each in the tenor and bass. All nice and neatly done, of course. ...
Small 2hp cyclone for dust. 1 hp fume exhaust should do. ------------------------------ Parker Leigh RPT Winchester VA (540) 722-3865 ------------------------------
Hi David, Those are great questions! We do a lot of action rebuilding in our shop, so a few saws and sanders are the main source of dust, and chemical/glue fumes as you mentioned from gluing hammers on WNG shanks, doing minor finish repairs, and ...
One of the most important reasons for three coils is that other technicians will be appraising your work. If they are expecting three tight coils with beckets/elbows at 90° then you need to have three tight coils and 90°. If they see sloppy work then ...
Capstan equation -> T₂ = T₁ · e^(μθ) ------------------------------ Dylan Johnson Boulder CO (415) 384-1811 ------------------------------
Why three coils? Simple...because it's always been done that way! When I was at Tuners Supply, forty-five years ago, that was the standard answer to most questions. ------------------------------ Gerry Johnston Haverhill, MA gj@gjpianotuner.com www.gjpianotuner.com ...
Another point is that coils should be tight such that no holes are showing and all beckets tightly crimped. I was taught this while a Belleyman at Sohmer. ------------------------------ Parker Leigh RPT Winchester VA (540) 722-3865 --------------- ...
I've used Daniel Paulson, email MoveItPianoLLC@gmail.com ------------------------------ John Ginter La Grange TX (832) 722-3033 ------------------------------
Steve, Yes, I believe that is the rationale (more consistent pin depth in general) when I've seen it. I am also thinking though, that since the exit point of the wire from the pin is the same (i.e., same height above the plate), the actual number ...
Wim - Take a nice walk on the beach tomorrow and think this one over. If your 'flag-polling' is being caused by insufficient pin-in-block, it's not really "flag-polling". If the coil was inverted, and the active wire length extended from the top ...
It seems to me that I have seen some factory jobs in which smaller wire sizes had more windings than the bigger ones. I'm not sure, maybe some Yamaha models in which the capo section had 4 and agraffe section had 3. There's some sense to that in that ...
4 coils is too many. Not just for looks, but it prevents the pin from going down far enough in the block to keep it from flag poling during tuning. On single bass strings I've done only two coils, for the same reason. ------------------------------ ...
4 coils on plain wire probably max, 3 coils for low bass. ------------------------------ Parker Leigh RPT Winchester VA (540) 722-3865 ------------------------------
Curious... Does anyone routinely (or for some specific reason) put more than three coils on pins in their stringing? I've seen it occasionally. I think I recall seeing as many as 5 coils on some of Peter Mohr's work when he was still doing rebuilds ...
Hi Jovanni, First, welcome to the PTG! And congratulations on making the choice to start your journey. Several thoughts on your post that I feel are relevant: I don't believe the piano industry is shrinking at nearly the rate that the raw numbers ...
Hi Jovanni: Welcome to the Piano Technicians Guild forum. You are correct in your assessment of current conditions. In my opinion, the influx of imported pianos has hurt the rebuilding business, and that has reduced the opportunities for new technicians ...
Hello, I am a 23 year based around the Chicagoland area and was planning to become a public school music teacher and a freelance musician but I really only have a passion for music and not teaching. I was interested in becoming a piano technician ...
I need a 6' 2" grand moved from Carbondale, CO to Springfield, MA. Pickup and delivery is flexible. Piano needs a total rebuild, so does not need a temperature or humidity control move. I know about Modern, Walter, and Keyboard Carraige, but I was wondering ...
Cheapest way to go, at least in the short run, is "thoughts and prayers". Otherwise, it would help to be more specific, as your 'short' question accommodates much of existence as we know it. Are you asking about practice rooms for Dampchasers/humidifiers ...
Hello Wim, RH changes may be de tuning the piano. In Florida, Pianos at Universities have gone out of tune more than normal, due to the unusually cold weather in January and February. RH at my Orlando University dropped from 62% in December (when I ...
Hi CAUT members! I am trying to do some research about what other schools are doing for 1) Dust Collection/ventilation in their shop 2) Humidity control. If you have a woodshop/workshop for your university (or even at home), what is your method for ...
A follow-up post after the service call and work. Before starting I had checked downweight at various points and it was all over the map. While I'm sure that all of the steps taken were useful and necessary, especially changing the damper lift timing ...
This one was a headache. And it most certainly isn't a Bosendorfer but the most bizarre thing is that it had a Kelly Plates and Schwander Actions. It produced a great deal of sound, past that….It was loud, I dare say, not pleasant. 😬 definitely ...
. If a plates only good contact is in the middle, the block and or plate may pivot back and forth like a teeter totter.
I share your pain because there are always going to be difficult and demanding clients that insist it is the technician or the piano or both and never them. You can do your best work but heavy hitters are going to wail away knocking out tunings, break ...
Contact Anne Ackermann in the Savannah Chapter. ------------------------------ James Kelly Owner- Fur Elise Piano Service Pawleys Island SC (843) 325-4357 ------------------------------
John, Yes, rock hard hammers is exactly as you say...no volume with "normal" hammers. The first time I encountered this hammer replacement was first on the list (cuz I had yet to learn the other details of the symptom set). I was totally dismayed ...
Actually, I'm not 100% sure the above data is from a Yamaha C3 but that is what the file name indicates. Speaking lengths in mm would need to be compared. ------------------------------ Tremaine Parsons RPT Georgetown CA (530) 333-9299 ------------ ...
My take is that this is a problem for the professor in question to resolve together with the administration. I might inform my supervisor of what the professor is saying, as an FYI. Leave it to them to work it out. I would not initiate the hiring of someone ...
I think I would be inclined to follow what is stamped on the bridge. The below data came from North Bennet Street School and was represented as original but I am not sure that the plain wire sizes have not been tweaked. The DIAM numbers are in thousands ...
Wim: Sorry for this crummy situation. I have over 20 year full time institutional piano tech work; one thing I've learned is that 'where there are faculty there will be difficult faculty'. My gut reaction would be: do your best work; ignore the faculty ...
I have sympathy for the difficult situation you have. Before announcing to management that you must decline tuning the pianos for this professor, I'd recommend meeting and discussing the problem with the management, ie department head or whoever you directly ...
Order replacements from Yamaha. Usually the Japanese ones are hard, and they come in different heights (9 - 11mm, maybe 1/2mm steps) . You might also consider checking and shimming the pinblock at the flange if it needs it, that might make the ...