Pianotech

While raising the pitch on a POS Lester spinet about 50 cents the other day, I finished raising the pitch, felt good that no strings broke, and as I usually do immediately upon finishing raising the last note (C88), I start sounding the notes, one-by-one, while watching my Verituner display to see how close I came to the target pitch. C7 to C8 was pretty close, then as I went further down the scale in the treble, it kept getting flatter and flatter until at the lowest note in the treble, it was like 80 cents or so flat (more flat than before the pitch raise!). I thought WTF - I’ve had a few pitch raises come out a bit off, but nowhere near THAT bad! And then before I could think another thought - BAM! The guy (owner) was out in the back yard and came rushing in and said: “did a string break”? I said “no, a string does not make that loud a bang - I’m quite sure that had to be the plate. I hate to tell you but I think your (lovely!) piano just died a violent death!”.

I presume the plate was compressing/bending/whatever-it-was-doing - but certainly changing shape until it actually broke. Could not have happened to a more deserving piano! ;-)

I wish I could post pictures, but I still can’t download pictures from my new iPhone. :-( Plate broke just below the low treble hitch pin area and had a good 1/4” displacement.

2nd plate that has broken on me in 26 years. FWIW, it DOES happen!

Terry Farrell
Shopless in hurricane-prone Florida…. :-(

The crack was probably there already from the piano being dropped or maybe a weakness in the casting. I always go slow with pitch raises and would do 2 passes for a piano that is 50 cents flat. I believe I read that 30 cents was the upper limit for a pitch raise because of the stress being put back into the piano and need to distribute the load across the scale. I had a grand piano tuning in which notes where slipping as I went up the scale . Closer inspection found a long crack in the plate where strut meet the horizontal plate casting forward of the tuning pins 

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James Kelly
Owner- Fur Elise Piano Service
Pawleys Island SC
(843) 325-4357
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I was witness to an upright breaking a plate one (many years ago), it was also quite loud, something like a shotgun blast.  That was a disaster that was un-repairable. I have only seen a very few broken pates in my 50 year career.

I did have one large Yamaha grand with a thin crack on a plate strut at the break between the tenor and treble section in the tuning pin area.  I carefully noted it with a date (1995) and observed it until the customer finally passed away.  It was stable the entire time, though I suspect that the next technician probably made a big fuss over it when it was passed on. One grand at a dealer had a broken plate strut over the soundboard that we were never able to repair.

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Blaine Hebert RPT
Duarte CA
(626) 390-0512
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Terry,

Try sending your pictures to yourself by email or as a file from your phone.

------------------------------
Blaine Hebert RPT
Duarte CA
(626) 390-0512
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 9/18/2025 1:29:00 AM
From: Blaine Hebert
Subject: RE: Broken Plate

Terry,

Try sending your pictures to yourself by email or as a file from your phone.

------------------------------
Blaine Hebert RPT
Duarte CA
(626) 390-0512
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 9/19/2025 8:31:00 AM
From: Terrence Farrell
Subject: RE: Broken Plate

Thanks Herbert! Hmmmm, seems like I shoulda been able to come up with that idea.  :-(

David-

Perhaps you are describing a vertical piano with pinblock separation. In pinblock separation, the glue attaching the pinblock to the back posts has released. Sometimes you can't see this because the top of the pinblock is covered with cloth or veneer.

The repair for this involves removing the screws and drilling through the pinblock and posts to allow installation of through bolts to stabilize the structure.

------------------------------
Ed Sutton
ed440@me.com
(980) 254-7413
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Original Message:
Sent: 09-19-2025 10:35
From: David Pinnegar
Subject: Broken Plate

Thanks to all for the wisdoms in this thread

Whilst very young in my external tuning career I tried to tune an instrument in a showroom and it just wouldn't work. After battling with it for an embarrassing time, walking past the bass end . . . I saw a crack in the plate. No wonder. The dealer hasn't spoken to me again as I know the quality of the instruments he sells!

More recently I've come across an upright that I was called in to do something with. Strings appear in perfect condition. Hammers good too. But it needed a pitch raise. Quite a massive one from memory. I did it and the instrument showed promise. But after a while I went back expecting more of a fine tuning, and the treble was terrible. Whether on this visit or a subsequent one I noticed that the bolts holding the plate had gaps on the upper side. I slacked the top end returning with a large screwdriver and did my best to retighten all the screws. I then noticed marks under paint where they'd been tightened before . . . It appears that the instrument has a bolt loosening syndrome.

I returned the treble to pitch and will revisit next week to see if it's held . . . but do fear that the instrument has a congenital defect and if so, will break the bad news.

Best wishes

David P

--

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David Pinnegar, B.Sc., A.R.C.S.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
+44 1342 850594

Original Message:
Sent: 9/19/2025 8:31:00 AM
From: Terrence Farrell
Subject: RE: Broken Plate

Thanks Herbert! Hmmmm, seems like I shoulda been able to come up with that idea.  :-(

Original Message:
Sent: 9/18/2025 1:29:00 AM
From: Blaine Hebert
Subject: RE: Broken Plate

Terry,

Try sending your pictures to yourself by email or as a file from your phone.

------------------------------
Blaine Hebert RPT
Duarte CA
(626) 390-0512
------------------------------

Would an inspection before servicing have prevented this in lieu of this being a notoriously known poor quality instrument that needed a large pitch raise?

And is there a professional obligation to replace it since it happened while being serviced?

I'm curious how others handle situations like this when something goes wrong in a clients home.

------------------------------
On the page, it looked....nothing.
The beginning, simple, almost comic.
Just a pulse - bassoons, basset horns, like a rusty squeezebox. And then suddenly, high above it..an oboe, hanging there unwavering, until a clarinet sweetened it into a phrase of such delight.
This was no composition by a performing monkey!!

865-986-7720 (text only please)
------------------------------

From Terry's description of what took place, I would conclude that at least a hairline crack (possibly, but not necessarily, visually detectable) existed before he started.  50 cents flat equates to: "This piano has been severely neglected..." and I would suggest probably moved from one location to another I  between any "tunings".  

Plates break only when there is a manufacturers defect of one form or another, or they have been damaged by sudden shock (e.g., falling backward flat on it's back or some such thing), usually unknowingly.  If I had to take the time to inspect every square inch of each piano I service to look for cracks, I'd give up. 

By the looks of his crack I would strongly suggest that tge piano suffered a trauma somewhere in a move and nobody knew. Years later they decide to get it tuned...the rest is history. 

No liability. However I have seen one owner go berserko over the situation threatening legal action, etc. It took the combined effort of the Chapter president at the time and at least one more tech to convince her that it was a pre-existing condition (yes, it was a PSO) and that tuner was not at fault.  

Stuff happens.  I'm sure though that some circumstances somewhere my point to liability but that would be extremely rare. 

Peter Grey Piano Doctor 

------------------------------
Peter Grey
Stratham NH
(603) 686-2395
pianodoctor57@gmail.com
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 09-19-2025 11:52
From: Chris Chernobieff
Subject: Broken Plate

Would an inspection before servicing have prevented this in lieu of this being a notoriously known poor quality instrument that needed a large pitch raise?

And is there a professional obligation to replace it since it happened while being serviced?

I'm curious how others handle situations like this when something goes wrong in a clients home.

------------------------------
On the page, it looked....nothing.
The beginning, simple, almost comic.
Just a pulse - bassoons, basset horns, like a rusty squeezebox. And then suddenly, high above it..an oboe, hanging there unwavering, until a clarinet sweetened it into a phrase of such delight.
This was no composition by a performing monkey!!

865-986-7720 (text only please)
------------------------------

Thank You Peter, that will be useful in the future.

-chris

------------------------------
On the page, it looked....nothing.
The beginning, simple, almost comic.
Just a pulse - bassoons, basset horns, like a rusty squeezebox. And then suddenly, high above it..an oboe, hanging there unwavering, until a clarinet sweetened it into a phrase of such delight.
This was no composition by a performing monkey!!

865-986-7720 (text only please)
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 09-19-2025 14:11
From: Peter Grey
Subject: Broken Plate

From Terry's description of what took place, I would conclude that at least a hairline crack (possibly, but not necessarily, visually detectable) existed before he started.  50 cents flat equates to: "This piano has been severely neglected..." and I would suggest probably moved from one location to another I  between any "tunings".  

Plates break only when there is a manufacturers defect of one form or another, or they have been damaged by sudden shock (e.g., falling backward flat on it's back or some such thing), usually unknowingly.  If I had to take the time to inspect every square inch of each piano I service to look for cracks, I'd give up. 

By the looks of his crack I would strongly suggest that tge piano suffered a trauma somewhere in a move and nobody knew. Years later they decide to get it tuned...the rest is history. 

No liability. However I have seen one owner go berserko over the situation threatening legal action, etc. It took the combined effort of the Chapter president at the time and at least one more tech to convince her that it was a pre-existing condition (yes, it was a PSO) and that tuner was not at fault.  

Stuff happens.  I'm sure though that some circumstances somewhere my point to liability but that would be extremely rare. 

Peter Grey Piano Doctor 

------------------------------
Peter Grey
Stratham NH
(603) 686-2395
pianodoctor57@gmail.com
------------------------------


Original Message:
Sent: 09-19-2025 11:52
From: Chris Chernobieff
Subject: Broken Plate

Would an inspection before servicing have prevented this in lieu of this being a notoriously known poor quality instrument that needed a large pitch raise?

And is there a professional obligation to replace it since it happened while being serviced?

I'm curious how others handle situations like this when something goes wrong in a clients home.

------------------------------
On the page, it looked....nothing.
The beginning, simple, almost comic.
Just a pulse - bassoons, basset horns, like a rusty squeezebox. And then suddenly, high above it..an oboe, hanging there unwavering, until a clarinet sweetened it into a phrase of such delight.
This was no composition by a performing monkey!!

865-986-7720 (text only please)