I want to agree with Peter on using CBL, counterbearing lube. I had a client with a 1920's Steinway B with an original player in it. The tuning on it was a real chore, same symptoms as you had there. Once I put the CBL on the string rests and agraffes, ...
Jonathan, I have been using Jon Page's Counter Bearing Lube (CBL) for quite a few years now. It is the first thing I do to every first time piano I tune. The extreme stubborn ones I apply before each tuning. IMO better than Protek. Jonpage@comcast.net ...
My next hurdle as a tuner is dealing with grands on which the pitch does not change when turning the pin. Of course I can eventually get the pitch to change by banging it near to death or by loosing it a lot and then bringing it up, but it's a time consuming ...
Something in PianoScope that was very valuable to me is that it allows you to make many adjustments to the display to adapt to your particular visual/neurological processing quirks. You can adjust the cent width of the display, the contour and speed ...
Thanks, Fred, this is very interesting. I must admit I was biased against these apps due to the price, assuming they were "consumer-grade." Do you find yourself sticking to the Balanced approach or do you prefer the P12 preference? Or do you switch it ...
Thank you for your review and opinion. ------------------------------ Garry Gambill Greenbush MN 12184520223 ------------------------------
Sound like it might be time to let this piano join the rest of the Story & Clark consoles that have found their way to the county landfill. I have a Story & Clark console on my list of pianos to tune today - and this one, just as most all others I ...
Quite frankly I would discuss the fact that the piano is exhibiting signs that it has reached it's expiration date. Time to start looking around. People buy these things THINKING they are built to last generations...poppycock! They need a dose of ...
Chris, I just saw your screwstringer demonstration on YouTube recently! Is it alright if I reach out you with some questions? ------------------------------ Mason Orlando - Student Technician ------------------------------
Just to clarify: Pianometer's free demo does not allow for tuning of full piano (😞); Pianoscope offers a full version trial for two weeks (much more generous). NV ------------------------------ Norman Vesprini RPT Piano Technology Program ...
Hi Terry, Yes, you have it right. It looks like I had the change in Dip backwards in my original question of this post. I wrote: "As I work my way down toward the bass section my Key Dip will become greater in order to compensate for the increased ...
Thanks Nathan, I forgot to mention Tonal Energy. Pianometer also has something like Tunelab's Spectrum display, a line with peaks that can show two pitches at once. Willey calls it Peak View. Can be used, for instance, during a quick major pitch change ...
Wanted to add, there's a newer feature in PianoMeter that I've been really appreciating, and that's the "tonal energy" display. It's really only useful in the high treble, but that's exactly where most ETD displays struggle the most. It really helps ...
I started looking at PianoScope and PianoMeter (as well as other ETDs) seriously a couple years ago as part of the Education Committee effort to start creating a curriculum, beginning with tuning and vertical action service. For the beginning tuning curriculum, ...
Apologies, I omitted an important summary to my digression in this lengthy reply. I tend to write extemporaneously so I sometimes forget the point I was making--and things can get lengthy, I'm sorry about that. I've added this summary paragraph into ...
Alan - yes, you are correct. However, I was addressing the question in the original post where Joe stated: "My solution, after consulting with more experienced technicians and reading Journal articles is to vary the key dip across the entire keyboard, ...
Thanks, Blaine. You are undoubtedly the right person, but you are more than 6 hours drive away! I have a photo, but it's just a couple of tiny dots barely visible on a white key. Not worth posting. Paul Sent from AT&T Yahoo Mail on Android
Terry, As has been mentioned in different ways, if we want one aspect of regulation that affects after-touch to remain constant, another/others must vary. As let-off changes from section to section, in order to keep both key dip and after touch constant, ...
Fred: Are you willing to share a few pros/cons of Pianoscope and PianoMeter? I'm happy with RCT (which I've used for four years), but the low price to try these two apps pique my interest. I'm not asking you to suggest one over the other per se, but ...
This is a comment on the original post. Joe - I, like many here, prioritize aftertouch (as you do also). I am somewhat shocked however that no one has commented on your description of the effect that increased or decreased let-off distance in the various ...
David Love went: " I don't agree with this. AT changes with both let-off and blow distance (and key dip, of course). How much depends on, well, how much, but they are all interlinked. I would choose to adjust the dip (after checking the let-off and ...
Paul, This is my bailiwick (MS in biology, pest control experience, 51 years as a piano tech). Send them to me. ------------------------------ Blaine Hebert RPT Duarte CA (626) 390-0512 ------------------------------
I don't agree with this. AT changes with both let-off and blow distance (and key dip, of course). How much depends on, well, how much, but they are all interlinked. I would choose to adjust the dip (after checking the let-off and jack position) rather ...
Once I had a piano with this same problem. VJ lube didn't do it, Pro-Lube didn't help. When I mixed some powdered teflon into the VJ lube, it worked. I can't say why, but it did. The piano left town, so I don't know how long the "cure" lasted. I ...
For the larger pins (#4 and 5), did you drive or screw them in? How did you remove the original pins? CA might be the best treatment in this circumstance. ------------------------------ Tim Foster RPT New Oxford PA (470) 231-6074 -------------- ...
Daivid went: " I wasn't suggesting that blow distance might be altered note to note, but section to section might be required." It's a conundrum, how to tweek the pertinent adjustments to satisfy a perceived inconsistency from one note to the next. ...
Gerry, The thing is that PianoMeter and PianoScope work differently from the legacy ETDs. Legacy (SAT, RCT, TuneLab) calculate inharmonicity constants based on sample notes for sections of the piano and then create stretches based on octave partial matching. ...
Lots to parse here. Re Bill Ballard's comments. I agree, you will always have to compromise something because of the slight differences in ARs note to note (and section to section) for reasons stated. I wasn't suggesting that blow distance might ...
I should add that the .390" is a normal for pre-war Steinways. It is a starting point and will vary with the first mock-up of the action. Any Steinway built after serial number 350,000 can require anywhere from .390" to .420" to allow AT and blow to ...
Greetings, If all parts were perfect I could get consistent aftertouch with consistent dip after all other regulation steps were done. I have seen this on some of the Yamaha and Kawai pianos, but never on a hand-built action. Like others, I vary ...
Thank you, Roger and Peter. I just wanted to follow up that I was able to make contact with David via email after a follow up email, in which he CC'd Bunmi and it seemed an order was under way. The last email I received was Friday (Monday was a holiday, ...
Fred, Really appreciate you laying all that out. You've always had such a clear north star with partial alignment, and it's helpful to hear how your thinking-and your tools-have evolved over the years. I'm still using the EDTs quite a bit, but I tend ...
I suggest you contact a qualified and reputable pest control company to come and identify what they are. Posting a picture here may help and there are several good sites on the web you can compare the pictures to. I would not work on the piano until pests ...
In this particular case, the piano is brand-new, so replacing the leather wouldn't be helpful, but that is certainly something that should "go on the list". I was taught to generally use VJ lube for trapwork issues, but in this particular case soap ...
I prefer to replace the leather pad, or at least glue a new piece of leather onto it using UHU All Purpose Adhesive. ------------------------------ Benjamin Sanchez, RPT (256) 947-9999 www.professional-piano-services.com www.FromZeroToSixFiguresBook.com ...
Soap. Polish the top of the rod. Or replace leather punching. ------------------------------ Steven Rosenthal RPT Honolulu HI (808) 521-7129 ------------------------------
Sounds to me like the pinblock is probably cracked and any efforts to tighten with larger pins or sleeves/shims will only expand the crack. Which, I would guess, is why they were ineffective. I have heard of pulling the pins soaking the pinblock with ...
Hi Peter, do you set Letoff at different amounts depending on the pianists you are working for? For example, will you set a very close Letoff for higher level pianists who get their piano serviced more often than the standard 6 month or 1 year interval? ...
David Skolnick: What an interesting experiment you carried out with lowering the amount of Aftertouch to the absolute minimum. Can you expound a little more on the lessons you learned from doing this experiment? Did it change the way you approach setting ...
Hi David, thanks for the detailed response. Indeed, I did get the .049"/1.25mm Aftertouch amount from Nick Gravagne's excellent series of Journal articles about Action Ratios from 2018 and 2019. I am going to lower my target Aftertouch to .040", which ...
I am working on a Story & Clark console. I have only tuned this piano one time prior to discover 8 loose tuning pins in the 5 and 6th octaves that will not hold pitch. Each were directly above the pressure bar. I am seeking opinion of issue cause and ...
My own approach has always aimed at maximizing alignment/coincidence of partials, or, to put it another way, minimizing entropy. I found that the Accutuner had serious problems in that regard, and, for example, needed considerable alteration upward in ...
David L, While I started my regulations aiming for .030" AT, I now use .040" ideally. While mechanically we're just aiming to clear the jack from the knuckle, I think the extra .010" gives a very different tactile feeling to the performer- a more decisive ...
For me, it's a simple matter. There are three things at work here: blow, dip and AT. Only two out of three of those can be a fixed quantity. Fixing all three is impossible in the real world, with minute discrepancies among action parts from note to note ...
Hi all, As a traditionally-trained aural tuner working in an institutional environment with a wide range of performance demands, I typically anchor my EDT work with the AccuTuner and then lean on CyberTuner when I need a consistent, repeatable baseline-especially ...
A customer sent the following message: You previously tuned an upright I had just moved into my apartment. I'm writing to ask for a bit of advice - we noticed little white moving pests (that look like dust) on the keys. Are there any home remedies ...
Joe: I used to set AT at .040", same method. I've reduced it to .030" over the years basically because AT is necessary for jack clearance from the knuckle (or hammer butt in an upright), that's its main purpose. Once the jack has cleared, any additional ...