When adding new solder, is it good to make sure there is no extra solder on the side of the reed opposite the solder pyramid. If the reed is flat, follow the instructions above for raising the pitch.
#Tuning a digital piano install#
After adding the solder, lightly file the solder into a pyramid shape, clean any shavings off the reed, install the reed and check its intonation.
If you have a reed mold, you can melt the old solder off the reed and re-form the solder pyramid by adding solder to the reed in its correct slot in the reed mold. If this happens, you will hear a loud popping sound. Then, the solder should be filed back into it’s pyramid shape, in order to be certain no new solder is at risk of making contact with the pickup during the reeds motion when struck. Additionally, you want to be sure that your newly added solder is firmly bonded. This needs to be done carefully, so the solder that is already on the reed doesn’t melt out of shape. If a reed is sharp, in a pinch, you can add a tiny drop of solder to the tip. Then, retighten the reed screw and check your work.Īdd solder to the reed.
To raise the pitch of your reed shift the reed backwards or towards the reed screw. To lower the pitch of your reed, shift the reed forwards or away from the reed screw. This will only give you a cent or two of pitch adjustment, but it may just be all you need. To do so loosen the reed screw and shift the reed either forwards or back. If you are lucky and your reed is only a few cents out of tune you may reposition the reed. For best results we recommend the first or third way, but the second method below is often acceptable if you are short on time. There are three ways to lower the pitch of a reed that is sharp.
#Tuning a digital piano how to#
How to lower the pitch of a reed that is sharp Additionally, installing a reed off-centered will play louder than other notes or alter the timbre of the note in an undesirable way. A reed that is installed off-center can make contact with the pickup causing a potentially harmful short. When re-installing the reed make sure the the reed is perfectly centered within the pickup. If you are unsure if you can safely file the reed while it is installed, you can remove the reed to do so. Shorts make a loud popping sound and could potentially damage the onboard amplifier. Metal shavings that land between the pickup and the reed will create a short. Clear the solder shavings away using a fine paintbrush, a vacuum, and by running a piece of paper between the reed and the pickup. If you are filing the reed’s solder while the reed is installed, be sure that all metal shavings are cleared from the pickup before turning the Wurlitzer on. Do not file away metal from the reed itself because this is irreversible and compromises the structure and resonance of your valuable tone generator.
This is done by filing or scraping away metal from the solder mound on the tip of the reed. In keeping with the principle that longer or larger tone generators make lower-pitched sounds, a flat reed will need to be made smaller in order to become higher in pitch. How to raise the pitch of notes that are flat Next, it is installed on the Wurlitzer and checked for its intonation. After the solder is added to the reed, it is lightly filed smooth.
Fine tuning of the reed is accomplished with a predetermined pyramid of solder added to the tip of each reed, which is applied with a reed mold. The length of the reed helps to achieve a rough ballpark pitch for each note. Reed lengths become incrementally shorter as you progress up the harp. The reed is a thin piece of metal about 1/32” thick and roughly 3/32” wide. In the case of a Wurlitzer EP, the reed’s length and mass is how each pitch is achieved. One simple principle remains the same though: longer or larger tone generators make lower-pitched notes, and shorter or smaller tone generators make higher-pitched notes. However, the tone is generated when the hammer strikes a metal reed, whereas on acoustic piano a string is being struck. Like traditional acoustic pianos, a Wurlitzer electronic piano (or EP) has an action assembly with wooden hammers, keys, whips and dampers. A Wurlitzer electronic piano is a unique instrument that uses a piano-like action assembly to strike metal reeds of various pitches to make sound.
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