Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Piano Tuner-Technicians Forum If You Don't Use Hard-Blown When Tuning, What Do You Do?

You're welcome, Sean.

For the record, the problem I see with most DIY advice on this Forum is not that people will stop hiring tuners and put their livelihood in danger. It is that it clutters things up so much. We have had many, many discussions on tuning hammer technique and there are finer points that have not been mentioned here. Hey, it's YOUR piano. Do with it what you choose.

What I do before tuning is first listen then hold down sustain pedal and do the Steve Brady forearm smash. It’s not really as hard as the PTG standard test blow.
It gives me a good picture of what I’m up against.
After tuning when I think I’m finished I do it again.
Touch up as required.
I like the technique because it gets the entire soundboard assembly moving and helps with rendering better than going after an individual note aggressively.

If there's room, you could lift up under the keybed until it falls over on it's back. Just joking around, Gene. Happened to me by accident long, long ago. Sure makes a noise!

Well the smash can be a bit startling 😊

In all fairness, that is not more information, that is literally how all pianos function. Unless we are talking about a humidity issue, all pianos are more stable in the bass and tenor. The pressure bar may be out of range, and raising it could help, but you can test it before you go through the trouble. Put a half round between the bridge pins of a unison and observe how the tuning functions. The pressure bar won't be any obstacle in the slightest. If you change the pressure bar height, you have to lower the tension. The lowering of the tension results in a reset of the tuning system. Obviously, the tuning has to start anew. If you are not aware of this, then one would assume, naturally, that the adjustment of the pressure bar solved the problem. That's not the cause. The pressure bar may slightly contribute to the issue, but it won't be the main cause. Since the majority of techs never take time to feel what the system feels like without the bridge pins in the scenario, they make a lot of false assumptions about how much friction is present in these various bearing points.

It is not hard to imagine the dangers of using a lubricant on a vibrating string. I am glad that OP has decided not to do this.

I tested this unfortunate procedure on a piano that was being trashed a long time ago. It doesn't matter where you the lubricate, it will migrate everywhere. Mario Igrec statement of "rubbing the strings with the lubricant felt wedge, against the bridge pins, but without touching the bridge," was ridiculous. Within seconds of playing, whatever is being used, will be on the bridge, on the back side of the bridge, in the hammers, on the action, on the soundboard, everywhere. In fact, I believe both Yamaha and Kawai in the USA had problems with a technician putting this kind of things on their pianos. It was a huge problem that messed up a lot of pianos. I believe lawsuits were in the works, but I never hear what the end result was. In any event, if piano manufactures don't lube their strings, and don't recommend the procedure, then there is a reason why.

Just because something seems to work, doesn't mean that it should be done. If it is a junk piano, the lub stuff may give it a few more years perhaps. But, it is not something that should be talked about as if it were a standard approach. Again, this is a palliative care measure. It is not something that should be openly promoted.

Sure it is. After all, tuners have to start somewhere in their learning process. And, this is one place that they go. In fact, many DIYers never even post here. Lots of people just read and try and figure things out on their own.

Here is the description of this forum: "Piano tuner-technicians, use this forum to discuss tuning, repairs, restorations, etc. Also, the place to post technical questions about the piano."

I suppose that description is open to a certain amount of interpretation.

Peter Grey Piano Doctor