Last Friday Alvin spent a day at my home to regulate and tune the Omega. On the regulation side there wasn’t much to do other than to check that the action was still within spec. A couple of notes were a little twangy, and they still are but less so. We will wait a while more before addressing them. It is either due to strings not being level, or hammers needing a bit of sanding.
As for the tuning, Alvin gave me the ’secret’ Sauter temperament, which I suspect is Almost Equal. My tinnitus-afflicted ears tells me that the higher octaves need a bit more stretch.
Alvin hard at work
Alvin arrived at 1100h and left around 1900h. He worked right through, not stopping for lunch or to take a drink break! He then had to dash off for a dinner appointment with a visiting pianist from the U.S
While the cheek blocks were out I took the opportunity to snap a couple of pictures of the left-hand one, from the top and from the side facing the keys.
Left cheek block -- top
Left cheek block -- side
The black inlays and engraved steel plates are custom work done at my request (and for a price). The right-hand cheek block has the Omega’s serial number on a steel inlay on the side facing the keys. I do have another set of spare cheek blocks in plain bubinga veneer. These will go into the piano should I ever sell it.
