Advice for tuning request? — Pianoconcerto Forum

Member

Posts: 164
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June 7, 2014, 01:34

Good evening,

so, in March a complete regulation of the instrument was performed, a 5-hour job, where the hammer rail was also combed. But regarding the voicing (that is, at the moment of punching to set the underlying felt on the same sound plane), barely 15 minutes were dedicated, so it goes without saying that it was not meticulous work; on the contrary, it was very superficial and rushed compared to the rest—as usual, little importance is given to it, but oh well.

Let's get to the point: several months have passed, since I could no longer make an appointment with the technician, during which the piano had acquired, albeit not in a completely homogeneous way, fullness in sound, which had been mostly attenuated and muffled on the piano and bright on the forte, but with many imprecise hammers.

But then when he returned, 2 and a half months later, following my continuous requests for "help," instead of trying to fix the defects, he started punching it to darken everything, saying it was the solution to achieve more dynamics, and not even homogeneously since the time available was little.

The sensation was indeed one of greater homogeneity at first impact, but very "muted," and after a while the sound is becoming harder and emptier for my taste.

What to do now? Must the combing be repeated and everything redone from scratch? Or am I now heading towards perfection by periodically having the hardest keys removed through punching?

Or again, should I wait for a certain period so that the hammers settle and harden before redoing the combing?

Thank you in advance..

Musick

Member

Posts: 164
City: -

June 7, 2014, 09:19

P.S. I forgot to write that the second time he came, he punched it out omitting the super-high notes, which compared to the others "burst your eardrums" now. there is this dispute

pianoexpert

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Posts: 3,876
City: rocca di papa

June 7, 2014, 21:08

I don't know where you are? It cannot be said without seeing and listening. What they call "hairdressing" does nothing more than raise fuzz on the tip of the hammer and hides everything. It has nothing to do with voicing. One must be careful, because sometimes voicing interventions and/or general work on the hammers can be irreversible. Many technicians think they are "softening the sound... but, in my opinion, the hammer tip should not be decompacted! Voicing is a complex intervention and the structure of the hammer rail must be respected. The tonal proportion between lows and highs must also be respected... not the taste of the pianist.

Musick

Member

Posts: 164
City: -

November 17, 2014, 07:38

Good morning Maestro, unfortunately I am from Messina, otherwise I would have absolutely asked you to examine it several years ago, saving a lot of time. My odyssey with this piano seems to be over; it was largely a problem of bad tuning! Only two hammers remain a bit harder, but I was told to play because they might flatten out over time.

You were perfectly right to write to me: "Many Technicians think they are 'softening the sound'... but, in my opinion, the apex of the hammer must not be decompacted!". With voicing (punzonatura), I was able to observe that in fact the sound does not soften or round out, but only darkens, and after a few months the percussion, the strike, also increases, significantly reducing the dynamic range, and you have my word on it.

What the technician did—the same one who sold it to me—is a completely different and specific job compared to simple voicing; he modified the elasticity of the hammer using special pliers, bulging it at the sides, pressing it, striking it, and if necessary, also voicing some of them.

Out of satisfaction, as soon as I have 10 minutes of time, I will record a short audio and post it; it sounds almost like a Steinway, I can achieve the most extreme pianissimos.

That being said, a string problem remains; there are strings that "buzz/crackle," and this was precisely the reason for the incorrect tuning—hammers were being voiced where the problem was actually the string! Last time he replaced one and the problem was resolved, but there are still coplanarity issues, which I don't know if they depend on the hitch pin; some strings were pinched in the past to resolve the problem.
Perhaps it is better if I open a new topic so as not to confuse the two subjects.

pianoexpert

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Posts: 3,876
City: rocca di papa

November 17, 2014, 08:56

Well. I see that you are on the right track. Everyone has an intonation technique. If the sound is clear in the pianissimo and round in the forte, the intonation has been done well. Sometimes it is worth re-stretching the high notes to give clarity to the beat point. But I see that you are very attentive and are following the right path. Regards