Since I service many beach communities, I've installed a lot of these over the years. I usually don't use the professionally made ones. They're certainly nice and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend them if price is no objection and appearance is important, but at the price they sell for I'd see a whole less of them. It's greatly to my benefit to sell my customers a cover since I clean out the piano as part of the tuning service, not to mention the prevalence of rust in this area. So I'm happy to offer an alternative that's considerably cheaper.
I order string cover felt from Schaff, usually 12 yards at a time, in both maroon and brown. As far as the batons which are sewn into or velcroed onto the fancy covers, I've found that a single stick spanning the bass section is sufficient to keep the felt off the strings. I buy a long length of 3/4" pine molding at the big box store, paint it gold on the top and stick some felt to the bottom and cut it into 2' lengths which I tie to the plate struts for this purpose.
Lay the bolt of fabric on the closed lid of the piano, chalk the outline and cut to fit. If you cut to the outside rim of the lid you will end up with about a 2" overlap all the way around the inside of the rim. I find this preferable to a precise fit to the inside of the case since it prevents the cover from "walking" about over time.
String covers will not help keep the piano in tune any better, I don't believe. But experience has shown me they are an effective deterrent to rust, not so much because they "trap" the moisture, but because by keeping the dust out, they prevent it from settling on the strings and giving the water vapor a friendly surface to adhere to. You've heard of seeding rain clouds? Same principle.
The stuff Schaff sells is wool, which is what you want. The cheap "baize" you'll find at the local yard good store is gonna be polyester, which I've found to be quite ineffective for this purpose. However, the Schaff material is pressed felt, not woven as the upscale covers are. (You can't embroider pressed felt.) In strong sunlight the color will fade. And if you try to wash it, it'll turn into a handkerchief. Make sure your customers understand this. And if they have a cat, their furry shedding friends will brave any hazard to be able to curl up on this stuff. Leave some offcuts for the kitty.
In institutional settings--schools, churches--these covers can be problematic, if only because pianists tend to throw them aside. You can explain till you're blue in the face that it doesn't stifle the sound, but you'll be talking to the secretary, not the player. Even signage doesn't seem to help much. There's some strong psychological voodoo going on there. Unlike politicians, pianists want to
see their sausage being made.
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Cecil Snyder
Torrance CA
310-542-7108
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Original Message:
Sent: 08-26-2021 23:30
From: Cobrun Sells
Subject: String Covers
Has anyone used the Vandaking cover that could attest to its quality?
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Cobrun Sells
cobrun94@yahoo.com
Original Message:
Sent: 08-25-2021 20:35
From: Cobrun Sells
Subject: String Covers
I've never seen one and have hardly any knowledge of these, but I am looking to recommend string covers for a school to keep debris from getting inside their grand pianos and to help maintain tuning. I see a few options but don't know what the word on the street is. Those who are quite familiar with string covers, what should I be looking for to recommend? Is it supposed to stay in the piano when piano is used? See, I'm confused because on Vandaking it says remove when playing, which seems counter intuitive as the whole point is for the cover to remain inside all the time to keep debris and dust out, right?