Hello, I am an instrumentalist (woodwinds) who is studying the piano. I am writing because my new Kawai rx2 conservatory, only a few months old (official source), was delivered to me with a surprisingly high pitch (between 443 and 444). Checking the 5 octaves recognized by my old Korg tuner, the result was uniform and perfect (another surprise). Now, as the softness of the new felts wears in, the sound is becoming too bright for my eardrums; on certain notes, I practically perceive a hammering with relative resonance (this is a problem of mine, it also happens to me in an orchestra during ff passages).
So I am wondering:
is it possible to bring the diapason to 440 in a single step? Will that be enough to normalize the sound?
is planning for the hammer voicing/regulation right from the start indispensable/advisable?
Thank you for the answers.
HA
Historical author
Reply 2 by Historical author
Hi, the tuning standard can vary between 440 and 445 Hz.
It is all very personal and depends on the sensitivity and taste of the pianist.
Personally, I would leave it at the pitch where it currently is.
If the sound seems too bright to you, even considering the repertoire you are going to perform, you could call your trusted technician and have them tune it to soften the sonority.
I agree with James. 443 is a bit high, but if it is stabilized, it is better to leave it as it is. Tuning intervention, as we know, is a delicate procedure and must be performed by an expert. In this case, I would advise against "lowering" the hammer tone too much, but rather practicing a light tuning while also recreating the pianissimo cushion. Always strike the treble hammers and check. Such tuning will last until the next tuning, but performed in a "light" way like this, it will not compromise the general timbre of the instrument. It is also fundamental and mandatory to tune the instrument beforehand and check for perfect regulation. It is very important!
Removing an out-of-tune piano is always tiring, and lowering the crown is even worse than pulling it up... You can't do it with a single tuning; you have to bring it below the crown, wait for it to build back up on its own, and then retune... But even this way, it is very likely that it will still be out of tune the next day.
I like the piano at 440 Hz; at 444 Hz it certainly sounds more brilliant, considering in this case also the size of the piano and the load on the plate, especially in the first copper strings to the left of the crossing.
But I wonder: is your tuner calibrated correctly? It is not usual for pianos to be delivered tuned to 444 Hz, unless the crown was set using a cold tuning fork; in that case, it would result in being sharp. A tuning fork should never be used as a reference even if tuning by ear, at least in winter.
I would evaluate interventions on the timbre after having brought it back down.
I have verified that the tuner is fine (and that the piano is now closer to 443 than 444). So, considering the suggestions, I think I will wait for it to drop naturally and postpone any eventual regulation/tuning until the instrument is more "mature," perhaps after a couple of tunings... hearing permitting...
