Upper octave is quieter than the rest

[ArasB]

Hi,
I recently tuned and voiced my 206a conversion.  Before voicing it, the volumes were all over the place, now it's so much better.  Most of the notes are now right where I want them, except I can't seem to get the top section to ring out like the rest.  I took emory to all of the reeds, adjusted the reed position closer to the pickups, checked the strike line, and tried to adjust the pickups, but the pickups at this high section are thicker and don't bend easily to adjust the fundamental vs harmonics.  The hammer tips look ok and similar to the rest of the hammers.  The hammer butts all rest properly, the let offs are similar to the rest and are within 5mm from the reeds.  Capstan spacing seems fine as well.  The tops of my keys don't line up exactly, but it's not too bad.
I just can't seem to get the top end to sound similar to the rest.  When soloing, it's distracting when my lines disappear compared to the chords and the rest of my solo when I hit this key range.
The speakers installed are the lid-mounted Vintage Vibe vintage Alnico speakers.
Any thoughts on what I should be looking at next?
Thanks for your help in advance!
Aras

[ArasB]

After playing on it for a while, it seems that it's not as bad as I first thought.  There's a section of notes right below the "quiet" upper section that is a little louder than the rest, so it made it seem worse.  The upper is still quieter as a whole, but once I voice down the louder section, it shouldn't be as distracting anymore.

[pianotuner steveo]

How are you "voicing" this piano? The strike line may need adjusting for the high treble. Loosen the reed bar screws and move the reed bar forward or back a little until it sounds better, then re tighten the screws.  It is possible to slightly move this in a Wurlitzer. Be careful not to short anything out if the amp is on.

There is no voicing procedure to speak of in a Wurlitzer like there is in a Rhodes. The hammers should never be filed, and an Emory board should never touch any part of a reed other than the solder tip. Bending the aluminum pickup can be risky- it's easy to break.
Your quiet notes may possibly be letting off too early, but if you adjust it, it can be more sensitive to reed breakage if set too close.

[cinnanon]

9 times out of 10 the weak treble notes are due to bent reeds. The reeds in this section are so short they permanently deform sooner than anywhere else on the keyboard. Take a peak at the reeds in this section.  Are they straight (reed straight and almost even with pickup) or are they bent (reed above pickup with noticeable bend)? What you want is a straight reed that is (when at rest) in the same plane as the top of the pickup. This is the first step before loosening any screws or adjusting letoff or anything.

[ArasB]

Thanks for the suggestions.

Steveo: When I mention voicing, I meant shifting the reeds left or right to adjust their position within the pickup opening as well as bending the pickup (slightly) to get a different tone from the note.  I really only took the emory to the reeds that had rust on them and even then only lightly since I assumed that this would affect their tuning (I left most of them alone).  The let off seems in line with the rest of the notes, but will look more closely.  When you say move the reed bar back or forward, do you mean moving each reed slightly individually or is there a way to move the group at the same time?  I did move each reed individually to tune each reed (without having to solder and file) since this was my first wurli tuning, and figured that there was a sacrifice in doing this shortcut.  If this is the case, then I will just go at it again and spend the time to solder and file instead of moving the reeds.  Thanks!

Cinnanon:  I will take a closer look at the reeds to see if they are bent.

In general, after playing a show the other night, it's not as bad as I first thought, but still noticeable, especially when hearing other people play it, so I definitely want to address this, but it's now lower priority

Thanks again!

[pianotuner steveo]

I've never seen a bent reed in a Wurlitzer in 40 years. If they bend, they are cracked, and then they break.

I mean moving the reed BAR forward or back at the treble end to see if tone improves. Loosen the two mounting screws on the treble end. Most likely you would have to pull the reed bar towards the player to make them sustain more, but try both ways. I'm talking about a small movement. If you find a sweet spot, retighten the mounting screws and hope that it doesn't move it back to where it was.
Never, ever take an Emory board or cloth to a Wurlitzer reed. If the reed is corroded, clean it with a light OIL then wipe it dry. Emory cloth or a board will remove the coating and make it easier for the reeds to rust. Of course, I am not talking about the solder tip, just the reed itself.

[ArasB]

Thanks so much for the tips. I won't emory any more reeds.

[cinnanon]

I've never seen a bent reed in a Wurlitzer in 40 years.

Here is almost a full treble reedbars' worth of bent reeds over the next 10 seconds!!

[pianotuner steveo]

I believe, you, I only said that I had never seen a bent one unless it was cracked.

[DocWurly]

They can be bent like that without having cracks. And they can be bent back.  It's not ideal, and it's hit and miss --sometimes they will lack sustain or get odd overtones-- but you can get some extra life out of them that way.

You'll know if they have cracks from whether or not the pitch has dropped.

[pianotuner steveo]

If reeds are bending from playing, that could mean the Let off is too close. This can lead to broken reeds. I don't know why anyone would bend them on purpose.

[DocWurly]

Yes, they would be bent because of somebody with a pounding playing style who needed a different let-off.  Personally, I don't pound, and I like my let-off adjusted so that the notes play even when I play very quietly.  Which means a pounder could knock out my reeds very quickly.  It's unfortunate that you can't adjust the minimum and maximum independently.  You have to make a choice based on the tendencies of the player.

I was proposing bending the reeds back to flat after being pounded.  Best practice would be to replace them, but sometimes they can be salvaged.  It's surprising when it works, but it can work.

[pianotuner steveo]

Maybe it's easier to bend them back if you heat the bend with a soldering iron?

[cinnanon]

Steel melts at about 2500°F and my soldering iron only goes up to about 800°F. Bending a little bit should work-harden the reeds. Too much and it'll weaken the reeds.

[jam88]

Quick caveat about heating reeds: the temper temperature for reed steel is only about 625 deg F. Heating to 800 deg F can draw down the steel to about 80% of tensile strength (and corresponding fatigue endurance).

Cinnanon, those reeds are REALLY bent! I've seen slight bending this on my old 120 that still has many original reeds, just deformed enough to make them start to loose volume. On a 120, the eleven (I think) uppermost notes don't have dampers, so I just flipped some of the reeds over and continue to use them. Not ideal, but I hardly ever play up there anyway.