David, that's interesting to watch, but I disagree that it couldn't be done aurally.
The critical part of your technique is that you treat each string exactly like all the other strings.
In place of the electronic device, I would tune the first string exactly where I wanted, like you first going flat to release the friction, maybe not quite as far as you've been doing; then like you pulling up to pitch and stopping, not going over at all; then I'd pull the other two up to the first one as unisons.
Then, because there is extra inequality still left in different lengths of the strings when the previous tuning is this unstable, I'd finish a pass, and then I'd start all over again. If left for a quarter or a half hour (while the rest of the piano is tuned), the inequality still there will move through so it can be heard. This time the differences would be minimal, and I would not move the wire down as far before pulling up. I'd barely move it down at all. Then I'd pull gingerly up to the exact pitch, paying especial attention to the final movement or pressure, to be sure they are all the same.
Once it is very nearly concert level, I'd work on the unisons very carefully. The ones which were creamy and very firm and agreeable with each other I'd leave, but I'd micromanage the others. It's possible to repeatedly nudge the tuning pin without moving it far enough to hear a pitch change for each nudge, just repeatedly feeling the resistance of the tuning pin and then letting go the pressure; but with repeated but minimal pressure on the pin, all the same direction (usually up) the pitch will gradually get that last cent or half cent to go where it should; and it will be stable because the motion is so minimal.
In my experience, all the extra inequality in the different segments will manage to show through, minimally, for the second and third pass. Once those are removed, true stability can be achieved. This assumes, of course, that the tuning pins are not horribly jumpy, etc.
Best of all would be to have a pianist about to perform on the instrument practice for an hour or two, to reveal any hidden flaws. One then removes those in the same way, and I find I can end up in a place worth being, however difficult the rendering and however unstable the previous tuning was.
Of course it's always easier to follow my own work; and over time stability is not such an issue, but one can't always choose the circumstances.
Original Message:
Sent: 8/16/2021 6:40:00 PM
From: David Pinnegar
Subject: Tuning instruments with steep angles at the agraffes
Perhaps my technique
Piano tuning technique for sharp angle at agraffes
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Piano tuning technique for sharp angle at agraffes |
Pianos such as Ibach and here Gors & Kallmann have a steep angle for the strings from the agraffes up to the tuning pins. When the strings are old in particu... |
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breaks all the rules. I'm tuning by machine, relying on the exactitude of the machine rather than my ears for unisons and not setting the pin.
Why? Because some makes of instrument and particularly with old metal fatigued strings present a sharp angle at the agraffe providing an insuperable friction point.
With these instruments,
- fine tuning is impossible and in that context setting the pin has no meaning,
- a sensitive machine can do the job much more accurately than by ear (1 beat in 10 seconds perhaps)
- the tuning has to be done in one go, going down to break the friction and pulling up in one go without stopping right up until . . . it's exactly on pitch.
My experience with the instrument illustrated in the video is that it was last tuned by a tuner of a certain reputation and were I not to have been around would have caused another instrument to have gone to the scrapheap.
Do others use the technique I'm using here? Are there alternatives?
Best wishes
David P
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David Pinnegar BSc ARCS
Hammerwood Park, East Grinstead, Sussex, UK
+44 1342 850594
"High Definition" Tuning
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