•Thanks to all who are contributing to the discussion on the physical actions involved in tuning a piano. Those who tune, but are not themselves experienced pianists, should understand that a lot more goes into a large, resonant piano sound than "hitting the keys hard." I am reminded of the liner no...

•Piano Technology Education [ Dave Bovell wrote in 120307 MMDigest > My sad feeling is that tuning is a dying trade. [snip] Apparently > there is little opportunity for training of this caliber any more, > not only in tuning, but also repair and regulation. Not true -- piano tuning and servicing is ...

•Since I tune pianos both ways [with and without a tuning aid], I can tell you that with an Accutuner 3 or more modern one, you can measure the stretch in a piano, and then proceed to tune from the bottom up, one note at a time. I have yet to tune the keyboardless piano in our Wurlitzer theatre orga...

•I was also concerned about breaking keys or action parts by striking the key very hard when tuning. Ed McMorrow who tunes my piano assured me that there is no risk other than breaking something that needs attention anyway. A proper piano action is built in such a way that it can take pretty much an...

•I have noticed in the last several weeks many articles on piano tuning. So, I add my comments. I am not a professional piano tuner; however, I have worked in the shop rebuilding grand pianos. My tuning has been in the installing of new strings and chipping and establishing the scale. We did this by...

•Hello all, The original owner of our shop, Mr. George Schindhelm, was a descendant (son) of the original Schindhelm brothers who owned the Schindhelm Klavier Fabrik in (East) Germany. They later joined Dietmann to become Dietmann pianos. Mr. Schindhelm always told me that a tuner who is worth his s...

•MMD strikes again! The day before yesterday I posted asking if anyone could help with the tuning scale for a 22-note Hicks barrel piano. Yesterday I got an answer from Roger in the UK with everything I needed and more. Without MMD I would never have received this info -- and so quickly! Thanks to a...

•Hello! I'm requesting any information on a B.A.B. street piano, a "hurdy gurdy." It plays eight songs on a barrel-pinned cylinder. It is very out of tune and I am asking if there is any information in regards to the scale used. There are 44 playing action hammers. The bass and accompaniment hammers...

•I have had very little experience of barrel pianos, but all the ones I have seen have the notes written, or stamped, onto the pin block, just above the tuning pins. Regards, Steve Toyne Boston, Lincolnshire, England

•Hi, I am Giovanni Vitiello from Italy. If you want information about street piano (e.g., the scale and other details), contact Mr. Gianotto Marco, my friend who is very experienced with these instruments. Gianotto Marco giralanota@alice.it.geentroep [delete ".geentreop" to reply] Best regards, Giov...

•A few weeks ago, my friend and I installed a new Pianomation II system into a 130-year-old piano. Due to the pianos age it was impossible to tune the piano to 440 Hz; instead, we could tune it to only 425 Hz without having to buy new strings. Now we run into the following problem: QRS piano MIDI-da...

•Dear Fredy, Greetings from Upstate New York! In regard to your dilemma, have you tried contacting QRS to see if they have a fix for your problem? The QRS Pianomation system that I was familiar with back in the 1980s, as I recall, didn't have a synthesizer within it. Instead, the music disc containe...

•We have been working on the piano action of our 1917 Coinola K. Without giving it much thought, when the action was repaired we tuned the piano to A=440. This was clearly a mistake! It was originally way flat for A=440, and now I know why. The pipes will not tune to A440, and moreover the metal pip...

•Scotty, One standard at the time was A=435 Hz, you might try that! David Dewey

•Kudos to Scotty Greene for wanting to put the piano in tune correctly with the original pipes. It is a crime to change the pitch of these original pipes to A-440 as they were designed to play at A-435. These pianos are now nearing the 100 year mark and should be preserved. I have never understood w...

•Scotty Greene said, "... and moreover the metal pipes were all tuned as sharp as they would go with the slides all against their stops, which makes me think it was tuned too high even before we boosted it [the piano] up to A=440." Upon reading this, the first thing I thought of was that Coinola was...

•Dear Scotty, The reason you're having problems tuning the Coinola K is because at the time of its manufacture the standard tuning pitch was A=435 Hz. I am quite sure if you re-tune it to A=435 that this would rectify your dilemma. I had heard of someone who attempted to tune a Violano Virtuoso to A...

•Tuning Standards for Coin Pianos and Orchestrions with Pipes, and Band Organs. Most American coin pianos and orchestrions should be tuned to A=435, except for most Nelson-Wiggen pianos, which were tuned to A=440 if the xylophone or marimba has that stamped on one of the bars. Many American band org...

•Art & all, I am neither famous nor infamous in this realm, but you can add my name to the "tune it to its designed pitch" group. Preservation is just that: preservation! Also, as has been noted, there are design issues here too, both in speaking lengths of pipes, percussion instrument construction ...

•> Most American coin pianos and orchestrions should be tuned to A=435, Yes, A=435 is the better tuning pitch for the above. I use this for my Reproduco. That pitch allows good tone alignment with the pipes and rosewood xylophone. Some symphony orchestras now tune their pianos to A=442... go figure!...