Pianet N etc. (non-T/Duo) reed tuning guidelines?

Started by pacealot, January 21, 2015, 03:29:16 PM

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pacealot

So I've noticed a conspicuous lack of correct information on the Interwebs on the proper way to tune "sticky pad" Pianet reeds (any pre-T and Clavinet/Pianet Duo models basically), and I wanted to put it out there and stand for correction if need be.  So my empirical experiments tell me that filing across the top of the reed lowers the pitch, and filing a notch in the side of the reed raises it.  Is this actually technically correct?  The service manual doesn't actually cover tuning, oddly.

I still don't understand the physics of filing across the top to flatten the pitch of it, but when I did it to a very sharp reed in my Combo Pianet today, it worked.  I haven't tried filing a side notch in a flat reed to raise the pitch yet, but the high F is a little flat, so that would be the one I'd end up working on next - I'd like to get some independent confirmation though before I start....

David68

I just finished a 1973 Pianet N restoration, so I wish I could help, but it wasn't out of tune at all. My sense is that Hohner didn't expect them to go out of tune, or, if they did, the idea was to install new reeds.

Pianets have been non-repairable for so long that there doesn't seem to be a great body of knowledge on how to fix these issues.

Max Brink

File off some of the mass at the end of the reed to raise the pitch and file the side of the reed at the base of the reed to lower the pitch. Make sure that the reed is screwed in firmly and stay as accurate as possible without overshooting your target because if a reed's side is filed down too far it's going to harm the resonance of the reed.

Also, make sure you get a set of Pianet Sticky Pads from Ken Rich. His are the only pads that sound the way that an "N" (or similar model like the combo) should sound.
Max Brink
The Chicago Electric Piano Co.

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pacealot

#3
Got it - it finally is starting to make sense physics-wise in terms of vibration, etc.  Done and done without damaging the timbre of the reed.  And now I know what to do properly in the future.

And yes, of course I got the Ken Rich pads for the Pianet in question (a very road-beaten Combo Pianet I fixed up for my daughter, who's a huge fan of the band from which it was obtained, so the scrapes and cigarette burns and superfluous holes are "badges of honour" rather than "flaws"), although my old N which is in storage still has a pad set I put together from a combo of NOS pads on which the foam was still hanging for dear life, and pads I resuscitated by gluing the original sticky pad to foam insulation material.  When I get that one out of storage, we'll see how they're surviving.  What I certainly WON'T be doing ever again is wasting money on Aaron Kipness' abominations like I did about 12 or 13 years ago or so.  He may know certain things about Clavs (although not the proper wound string construction), he continues to sincerely promote the use and restoration of the classic Hohner keyboards, and his Pianet shielding video is useful and more-or-less accurate, but his Pianet "pads" are the worst Hohner-related product I've ever spent money on (plus he censored me on his Clav.com message board when I had the audacity to accurately correct him on how the original pads actually worked, so I'm not really a fan).  I also recapped the Combo for half of what he charges for a "kit" of new caps.  Axe to grind?  No - I'm just an "end user" and I don't care where I get the stuff from as long as it works right.  Still a little b**t-hurt from being unfairly Interweb shut down over a dozen years ago?  Yeah, I'll admit it; I am.  Okay; rant off (for now)....