What can you do with a Piano that Can't be Tuned?
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- Опубліковано 26 тра 2015
- For a piano that has been in a home where the temperature and humidity have affected it over the years and the owner neglected to tune it on a regular basis, it can sometimes put undue stress on the instrument trying to get it stable again. livingpianos.com/piano-care/wh...
Hi, I just wanted to comment, when I discovered this channel I spent hours watching your videos and I learned so much! Please keep it up and I think the way you present information is clear, concise and easy to understand. Thanks for all the great videos.
I'm not a piano tech, but I saw a show once where a couple found a piano in a house they were restoring, all of the hammers were broken, it had a lot of missing keys and the sound board had multiple cracks. They removed the remaining keys, added a small counter top and turned it into a bar.
The video mentions "techniques where you can treat with a chemical all around the tuning pins". Over the years various liquids have been used as "dope" to improve tuning pin tightness. The proprietory liquid called "Pin-Tite" seems to be the best of those, and glycerine & water worse than useless, because after an initial tightening, it can apparently make things worse. About 20 years ago, American technicians discovered the use of low-viscosity (water thin) CA glue for this application, and it has proven very successful, and lasting. It is quick, and non-invasive, and has rescued many old pianos that would not justify the expense of a rebuild or even repinning/restringing.
CA glue means super glue. The dollar store stuff barely works. I bought and have used Gorilla Glue for many purposes. I tell people, "It's called Gorilla Glue for a reason. But it might not be the right product for a piano. Maybe there are products specifically made for pianos. Do y9ur research.
@@anonymike8280 "Gorilla" is the brand name of a range of different adhesives for various purposes. For piano pinblocks, it really has to be very low viscosity superglue (CA glue, Cyanoacrylate). While some Dollar-store CA glues are on the thin side, they may not be quite thin enough. It is better to buy a quality branded product of known viscosity.
@@anonymike8280 "Gorilla" is the brand name of a range of different types of adhesives for various applications. CA ("superglue") for piano work needs to be the very low viscosity or ultra low viscosity variants. The superglue found in Dollar Stores is fairly thin, but might not be quite low enough viscosity for treating piano pinblocks (wrest planks, in UK parlance). The application of very low viscosity superglue has made many low-value pianos tuneable that would otherwise have been scrapped. The effect is immediate, and durable.
I actually changed pins (thicker pins) on a couple of strings on my very old piano with a cracked pinblock. I is many years ago. But it prolonged the playability for 4-5 years.
New pianos are expensive but! there is a surplus of older pianos now, so if you have a non-tuneable old piano and hammers and dampers are worn, too - then start to look for a "new old" - get help from someone with a little knowledge of what is inside a piano!
Some well-intentioned people put oversized pins into a Hamburg D274 back in the 90's, and it was the end on that instrument. they have a Yamaha CFII on their stage now.
I've had this problem with violin and the pegs on acoustic guitar and what always did the trick was applying a little rosin to the peg or a light dusting in the hole. It makes it tackier and the best part is once it's left undisturbed for a bit, it tends to set and become somewhat hard. I don't know if this will work on a piano as it is dependent on surface area, the type of wood, and string tension and the leverage the string can put on the pin, but if it can hold smooth plastic pegs in place on a humidified acoustic guitar, I don't see why not.
Or sell it to someone who wants to use it as furniture!
I've often wondered why pianos do not use something like guitars use. Obviously actual guitar machines would not work because the tension is much higher, but it could be something designed specifically for piano level tension. The butterfly knobs would not be adequate, but it could be done so that you still use a piano tuning wrench on a bolt head to achieve the torque needed to get to the proper tension. Problems I see are 1. Significantly higher tension, but that can be designed into the machines. Perhaps use a locking style tuner to hold the sting better. Still likely need a bolt head and a wrench to tune rather than guitar style knobs. 2. They take up more space and there are so many strings, but I do not believe it to be beyond the possible. 3. So many tuning machines would be expensive, but then the pin block could be much less so, the machines are replaceable, and the piano might retain more value.
What about using of PinTide?
Hi Robert I have a question for you You did a video a while back about moving a piano if it would go out of tune or not. great video by the way.
I have a question about moving a piano.
If you move a baby grand piano that is over 50+ years old will it affect anything of the structure of the piano or the soundboard cracking when moving it? Thanks for reading!
jeremythejerm Hi Jeremy, Thanks for watching our videos. If you are moving a piano across a room by yourself or with help from a friend be extremely careful. The wheels on many pianos - especially older ones - are not reliable. If the wheels don't turn you can use WD-40 to get them going. We move pianos around the shop using a dolly specifically designed for moving pianos and rarely role them just using the wheels.
If you are moving a piano professionally - like up on end with the legs removed - then as long as you are using a reputable company you should be fine. High quality movers will have insurance so in case anything is damaged on the piano you would be covered. It's always a good idea to ask if they have insurance before hiring them.
As far as the structure of the piano, it should be fine in a professional move. If you are moving a piano across the country and the truck is not climate controlled there is a risk of a soundboard crack or potential damage from extreme changes in temperature but this is a very rare occurrence. As long as you are using professionals you should be in good shape.
We move pianos that are over a hundred years old and have never had anything damaged with the structure of the piano. Hope this helps!
Does the pin block add anything to the sound of the piano? If not so much one could maybe strenghten it?
The pin block holds the tuning pins tight. It has no direct connection to the sound of a piano.
Robert Estrin, what if the pins are okay and the pin block is perfectly okay, then, in what other circumstances would a piano be un- tuneable?
If a piano hasn't been tuned in a long time, it may require several tunings to hold. New pianos, or pianos that have been restrung may not hold tuning very well until they are tuned several times, Dramatic changes in temperature or humidity can also affect tuning stability,
@@LivingPianosVideos Understood, thank you. But what's the deal with "false beats"?
@@LivingPianosVideos apologies for the misspelling of your surname. It was autocorrect ("Otto Krecht").
You can also tune the piano to a semi-tone flat.
@ Piotr Barcz : do you mean if the piano will not hold the tune at 440, that it could still possibly stay in tune with itself at a lower frequency?
@@Artiej0hn0 Yes. Less tension means less movement of the tuning pins if they are loose.
Pull the Glenn Gould.
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