Chipping up to pitch

Chipping refers to a rough tuning designed to get strings up to pitch without worrying about complete accuracy. Now that the instrument is strung and the nut is pinned, it can be tuned for the first time.

There's no completed action as of yet, so the instrument can't be played in the customary manner, but the strings can still be tuned to an electronic tuner by plucking them with a toothpick.

Many, many tunings will be required to stabilize the harpsichord at pitch. The wire stretches out a great deal in the beginning, which affects the tuning stability at first. Brass wire takes several weeks to develop its proper sound: at first it sounds quite dull, but eventually it acquires a kind of high-frequency sizzle that, to me, is the hallmark of a good-sounding string.

Nothing broke during the first tuning! So far so good...