Relative humidity

[iansinclair]

Just a miscellaneous rant... my lovely piano is not happy about a relative humidity of 90%.  Can't blame it.  There are times I wish I had climate control... can't afford that!  Still quite playable, though, but sticky keys and slow repetition and such like.  Sigh...  Just have to work harder and be more precise!  Good for me, I suppose...

[hfmadopter]

The way I look at it is at least the pins are tight ! Seriously, my piano is in an air conditioned room but that really isn't enough. Plus we were away in Maine when the humidity rolled in, so it got an extra week without the AC going. It swelled pretty quickly. The AC is on now and I touched up a few strings ( had to let them down but one, that had a slight pull up). I keep threatening to tune the whole piano again but then I just sit down at the digital !

If I tune the entire piano now it should hold till October or so, then it's going to start shrinking up just in time for the Holidays.

Man compared to the digital that bass just bellows though . And the digital's bass isn't bad at that ! I was playing on the grand today and had to keep backing off on the bass.

[iansinclair]

The way I look at it is at least the pins are tight !
Man compared to the digital that bass just bellows though . And the digital's bass isn't bad at that ! I was playing on the grand today and had to keep backing off on the bass.

This is true, on the pins... but one does sort of vaguely wonder what is going to happen when the weather finally dries out again!

And I have the same problem with the bass going from M with the lid down (my usual practice piano) to my A, in a much better setting!

[indianajo]

I'm on a budget too, but I do keep one 6000 BTU window air conditioner running from late April to late September.  It doesn't keep the other end of the 1200 sq foot house cool, but it keeps the humidity down some. It is only set to 78 F on the faceplate thermostat.  
I tried living without air conditioning in Houston when I graduated from college into the post Viet Nam War recession.  The interior walls midewed in my stucco house! So no more iron man, for me.    The room air is costing me about $60 a month June -August, less in spring and fall with the cool spells.  
My Steinway console gets one sticky key in the dry of winter. It seems okay with summer.  It peaks at about 80-84 deg in the piano room.  I have to use a fan to keep from sweating on vigorous pieces.   I don't shut the A/C off when I stay out at my country trailer in the summer, but I do turn the thermostat up a little.  
The trailer is up on a ridge between the Ohio & White river drainages. No A/C, no running water, no heat, but it is windier up there and there is much less ozone. Only 15 miles from the Ohio river, but such a different climate up there.    

[hfmadopter]

This is true, on the pins... but one does sort of vaguely wonder what is going to happen when the weather finally dries out again!

And I have the same problem with the bass going from M with the lid down (my usual practice piano) to my A, in a much better setting!

I tend to keep the old Henry F miller's top on the low lid peg most of the time. The top down tends to muffle it more than I like. All the way up is reserved for when there is a bunch of company in the house and in the living room to listen. I don't need it that loud when no one is home. It's surprising how a few bodies sucks up the sound compared with practicing alone though.

I really have been on the digital a lot more than the grand lately but that's mostly due to the fact I need to pull the action out of the grand and buff up and lube some rawhide for the back checks. It's a bit sticky going through the let off which is irritating me. The action could use a good regulation, I'm not the greatest at that yet ( get it done but very slow going compared with the pros) and too cheap to pay someone . If I didn't have the digital I'd just dig into it but I do have the digital !

My grand is very old and it takes TLC to keep it going.

[iansinclair]

My grand is very old and it takes TLC to keep it going.

Don't they just?  My A is 1898.  But then, I'm kind of getting on and take a fair amount of TLC to keep going, too!

And Indianajo -- I know the country around where your trailer is.  Nice country.  Sounds good to me!

[hfmadopter]

Don't they just?  My A is 1898.  But then, I'm kind of getting on and take a fair amount of TLC to keep going, too!

I swear, sometimes I think I see more doctors than a pharmaceutical salesman !

My Miller is an 1898 vintage as well. Sounds more like an M than an A though. An M with a bass on steroids, now has a clunking pedal rod. Funny, last summer it squeaked and I cured that, now it clunks ! If I had a spare ten grand I'd send it off to the rebuilder down the street from me or have Chris my old tech take it on. With retirement looming down on me, I don't think so though.

[iansinclair]

Me too.  If I had 10 grand or so... but, being retired, I don't.  I had a clunk in the pedal at one point too, and a squeak -- but the squeak succumbed to a little unauthorized lube, and the clunk just sort of went away.  The headache for my tech -- who's pretty good -- is adjusting the action when it needs it, particularly the repetition.  Newer pianos have nice little screws to adjust the fiddly little springs.  Mine?  No.  You have to tweak the fiddly little springs by hand...

I have, so far, managed to avoid the kind attention of doctors.  I do not expect this happy situation to last, but at three score and ten plus, I'll take what I can get!

[hfmadopter]

Me too.  If I had 10 grand or so... but, being retired, I don't.  I had a clunk in the pedal at one point too, and a squeak -- but the squeak succumbed to a little unauthorized lube, and the clunk just sort of went away.  The headache for my tech -- who's pretty good -- is adjusting the action when it needs it, particularly the repetition.  Newer pianos have nice little screws to adjust the fiddly little springs.  Mine?  No.  You have to tweak the fiddly little springs by hand...

I have, so far, managed to avoid the kind attention of doctors.  I do not expect this happy situation to last, but at three score and ten plus, I'll take what I can get!

I see five Docs on and off, some are just annual checks..

My Millers action has screws, it still isn't a lot of fun to regulate but at least it's common sense if you follow instructions fairly well. I can't imagine doing it with none.

I checked the tuning with a meter last night, no wonder it isn't harmonizing well, the bass is under for the most part and the area of A440 has pulled itself up to A442 and I tuned it in the winter to A438. That whole upper register is high right now. I may start that full tuning today. middle C is dead on but the unison is off slightly ( I fight with middle C, it has a replaced string which means two of the unison are new and one is not.)..

Edit; RE Clunky Pedal:

Well, it's missing it's retainer ! Looks like a block of wood should be there at the top of the rod with a nut or else screwed in directly ( very coarse thread almost like a wood screw thread), now where on earth could they have gotten to ( the wife's vacuum cleaner is suspect). I'll never find them, time to be creative.

[iansinclair]

This is ridiculous.  When you need to have a towel next to the piano, so you can wipe the sweat off between pieces like a boxer between rounds so you don't drip on the keys, you know it's really too hot and humid...

the vacuum cleaner is a likely place for that retainer.  Question is, is it in the current bag, or the last but one or two?  And if so, is it worth looking for?

[hfmadopter]

This is ridiculous.  When you need to have a towel next to the piano, so you can wipe the sweat off between pieces like a boxer between rounds so you don't drip on the keys, you know it's really too hot and humid...

the vacuum cleaner is a likely place for that retainer.  Question is, is it in the current bag, or the last but one or two?  And if so, is it worth looking for?

I did that overall tuning today, turned out fairly decent. I'll just tweak a few unisons over the weekend ( have to work tomorrow). No luck on that retainer, I think I'll create a wedge. The shop down the street had a Miller similar to mine all rebuilt. I may be able to have a look at that one if they still have it, to get an idea how the piece was shaped.

It was beautiful in the house today with the AC going. It's a bit warm right now because it has started cycling off a bit too long as the evening outdoor temp is dropping ( I have to adjust the ac temp down in that condition if I want it to maintain but usually don't bother). It's dryer than outdoors at any rate. Took 2-1/2 hours to tune the piano, never broke a sweat. We went to my daughters house in the late afternoon to celebrate the 4th, it was hot out in the yard there. Today was  not a day to be at the piano with no AC me thinks ! We have window units in our house but her house has central air, now that is nice ( even distribution and quiet). Still, there we were sitting out in the yard, go figure.