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String Breakage Yamaha and Kawai

  • 1.  String Breakage Yamaha and Kawai

    Posted 03-01-2019 16:33
    HI CAUTland , so we have a few 10 year old Yamaha and Kawai mid size grands in practice modules, string breakage this season has been high exclusively  wire size 14-15, usual procedures backing off let off,  ''softening''strike point  has not helped, wire is Mapes American Gold?,  any thoughts , adjust wire gauge or type  of wire?

    ------------------------------
    Martin Snow
    Boston MA
    617-543-1030
    ------------------------------


  • 2.  RE: String Breakage Yamaha and Kawai

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 03-01-2019 17:00
      |   view attached
    Great question. After hearing SO MUCH about Paulello XM wire (sold/stocked by JD Grandt -John Schienke) I ordered a supply of this amazing stuff about 3 years ago. And primarily for the very purpose you describe. 

    I have made notes of all of the treble strings I have replaced with this. So far NONE broken. This is really only an issue on our piano major pianos. Mostly the Yamahas. One in particular, a C1 has had a CHRONIC string breaking issue since the very first SEMESTER it was put in service. I voiced it down several times & did everything I knew to do....still was breaking several treble strings per semester (and many times the Mapes Gold wire I had already replaced it with AND had reduced the string wire size one size! Not good! But I was desperate) 
    I'm certainly not claiming this as a "cure-all" but my conclusion so far is this stuff REALLY helps!
    All of the Paulello wire is made in France (as you will see in the attached pic) but it is the XM type specifically that is the best option for string breakage issues. 
    This was a huge discussion on some of the other forums-Phillip Stewart, Dale Erwin, and quite a few other rebuilders and high end techs highly recommended this. 
    (If nothing else I hope this will "STIR THE POT!!")

    ------------------------------
    [Kevin] [Fortenberry] [RPT]
    [Staff Techician]
    [Texas Tech Univ]
    [Lubbock] [TX]
    [8067783962]
    ------------------------------



  • 3.  RE: String Breakage Yamaha and Kawai

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 03-01-2019 17:05
    Oh and by the way, I intended to address this but quite a few techs assured me it would be okay to just replace broken strings with this-it is not necessary to replace all the strings or even an entire section in order to use or try this wire. I cannot tell the difference & apparently it is not dicernsble by all the experts. 
    Perhaps others (the guys at JD Grandt!) can help answer in greater detail what the difference is/differences are between this and say Rolalu. 
    Hope this helps Doctor Snow!
    Kevin F, Staff Piano Tech TTU School of Music

    ------------------------------
    [Kevin] [Fortenberry] [RPT]
    [Staff Techician]
    [Texas Tech Univ]
    [Lubbock] [TX]
    [8067783962]
    ------------------------------



  • 4.  RE: String Breakage Yamaha and Kawai

    Posted 03-01-2019 17:34
    Thanks Kevin, I just left v'mail at Grandt I only see wire type O and M  not XM on their site how is their pricing for 1lb coils

    ------------------------------
    Martin Snow
    Boston MA
    617-543-1030
    ------------------------------



  • 5.  RE: String Breakage Yamaha and Kawai

    Posted 03-01-2019 17:41
    I've just found the Paulello discussion from October 2018....thanks

    ------------------------------
    Martin Snow
    Boston MA
    617-543-1030
    ------------------------------



  • 6.  RE: String Breakage Yamaha and Kawai

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 03-01-2019 18:07
    Well Hmmm...I doubt they are out of stock, etc...hopefully they will get back with you soon. Great folks!
    (Also, there may be other sources -probably Canada/Europe- but I just REALLY like these guys AND the fantastic bass strings they make. 
    Best my friend! Hope you get some rest this weekend. 😊😊😊

    ------------------------------
    [Kevin] [Fortenberry] [RPT]
    [Staff Techician]
    [Texas Tech Univ]
    [Lubbock] [TX]
    [8067783962]
    ------------------------------



  • 7.  RE: String Breakage Yamaha and Kawai

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 03-01-2019 21:11
    If JD Grandt cannot get the XM wire in a reasonable amount of time, you can order it directly from Stephen Paulello in France.  I have done this several times, and delivery is in a reasonable amount of time.

    Will Truitt

    ------------------------------
    William Truitt
    Bridgewater NH
    603-744-2277
    ------------------------------



  • 8.  RE: String Breakage Yamaha and Kawai

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 03-01-2019 21:15
    I was just going to suggest the same. Easy to use web site, fast service, reasonable shipping.
    Fred Sturm
    fssturm@comcast.net
    www.artoftuning.com
    http://fredsturm.net
    "Tradition is not the worship of ashes, but the preservation of fire." -Gustav Mahler




  • 9.  RE: String Breakage Yamaha and Kawai

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 03-01-2019 22:51
    I hope those of you that exerience this kind of string failure take a moment to use a small, fine bastard file to "test" the V-bar where it passes under the strut or at the high treble end. I think you will find that the metal is hard and you will know this because attempting to file it will feel/sound similar to two files going at each other. 

    I doubt this breakage issue would be present if the V-bar was soft, untreated grey-iron shaped to a true V-shape. 

    Kawai now shapes their V-bars to a true V-shape and it is a sight to behold! Just like I told everybody to do it back around 1978. But hey, whats a few decades!

    If one is "schooled" in how hard V-bars feel when you tune, you can feel how the string "sticks" just a little to the V-bar and duplex bars in a Yamaha. It sticks because the carbon in the plate is more towards the diamond form and less towards the graphite form.

    PTG should set a preferred standard for V-bars and suggest to all our customers that they only buy pianos so fitted. This is what professional bodies do. They set standards!

    ------------------------------
    Edward McMorrow
    Edmonds WA
    425-299-3431
    ------------------------------



  • 10.  RE: String Breakage Yamaha and Kawai

    Posted 03-03-2019 23:05
    I have a client with a 2005 Kawai RX-2 with excessive recurring string breakage in the treble.  Would this be in the date range when a Kawai would have had a hardened V-bar?

    ------------------------------
    Floyd Gadd
    Regina SK
    306-502-9103
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  • 11.  RE: String Breakage Yamaha and Kawai

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 03-04-2019 00:26
    There is a Kawai I service with super hard capo that sheds treble strings like mad. It dates from the early 1980's. I think they tried a lot of different things with the capo over the years. I don't keep track of dates that well. I just use my hands, ears and mind to figure things out at I go.

    ------------------------------
    Edward McMorrow
    Edmonds WA
    425-299-3431
    ------------------------------



  • 12.  RE: String Breakage Yamaha and Kawai

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 03-04-2019 21:07

    I really need to chime in here . . . .

     

    Ed, I am sorry, but Kawai's testing does not bear out what you are saying regarding capo bar hardness.  I do agree with most of your points – a smaller V contact area and not too steep of a string angle up to the front duplex definitely decreases the stress on the wire.  But you are getting people to accept an incomplete statement that hardness on it's own will contribute to string breakage – this is not accurate according to Kawai's testing.

     

    About 10 years ago Kawai launched a pretty exhaustive research project into treble string breakage.  A lot of different duplex / capo configurations were tested, including various hardness specs and profiles for the V under the capo.  Here are the main points that our R&D department found, many of which are in agreement with Ed McMorrow's findings:

     

    • Soft capo bar combined with a broad cross section at the string contact (3mm radius or more) leads to very accelerated string breakage after 5 to 10 years of steady use and tuning.
    • Harder capo bar combined with the same 3mm cross section made the piano easier to tune (easier string rendering) and reduced string breakage. This is partially why almost all piano makers have a hardened capo bar these days.
    • High string angle between the string segments of the duplex and speaking length greatly increases string breakage. It was found that 15° gave very good string reliability, 17°-18° gave equally good string reliability and lowered string duplex noise.  Angles in excess of 20° can be common in many grand pianos, and this definitely contributes to accelerated string breakage.
    • Longer and shorter duplex string lengths had little effect on the string stress / reliability, but affects the tone of course.
    • Worn hammers (and therefore longer string grooves) cause the hammers to drive the strings with a long, flat contact area which greatly accelerates string breakage.

     

    If a piano is breaking treble strings, the technician must look at all of the variables that contribute, and not look at one cause.  This reminds me of technicians who contact me to ask if they should add a touchweight reducing spring rail to the keys to make an older Kawai feel lighter, yet the technician hasn't done anything to the action yet to get it working correctly! Similarly, if a piano is breaking treble strings you don't want to jump on a single cause like the hardness of the capo bar.

     

    So here is what you look at:

    • How old are the strings?
    • How many hours a day does the piano get played?
    • How aggressive is the pianist in practicing? Some pianists have a positive gift for breaking treble strings, others can play an equal amount of time but not break any!
    • How worn are the hammers?
    • How close is the letoff? (if it is very close, the string stress really increases!  2mm is usually plenty safe, though)
    • What is the string angle at the capo bar?
    • What is the condition of the V-bar?  Are the strings buried into it with long 'saddle' grooves?  This is very bad.

     

    I would like to mention here that many music schools simply become accustomed to changing treble strings every 5 to 10 years in their practice room grand pianos.  This can be true of all brands and ages of pianos – and mainly depends on the pianists, hours used every day, and condition of the hammers.

     

    As Ed had confirmed in his testing and Steinway originally pointed out over 100 years ago, the ability of the string to pivot at the capo is very important for lowering string stress.  A 'sharper' V contact area helps this.  If the iron is reasonably soft this also allows the strings to settle in just slightly and create very clean terminations, and the sharpness of the V helps prevent long, deep saddle grooves.

     

    A 3mm radius V bar works well if the iron is hard enough to keep the strings from digging into the plate.  I agree that the sound is not as good as with a smaller radius, but as far as string reliability, some hardening of the capo does decrease string breakage by keeping the strings from settling into the iron as much.  Keep in mind that the capo bar should not ever be as hard as the wire, or the wire becomes flattened and distorted.  But as long as the iron is softer than the string and the angle is not too steep, it is beneficial for the V to be hardened some.

     

    In the newest Kawai grands, the capo bar radius has been reduced to about 2mm, and the iron is being tempered slightly. In addition, the string angle has been reduced to about 17° - 18° so that the string is not being forced to dig into the capo bar V as deeply.  We have had absolutely no complaints of string breakage since these changes were implemented!  We have only heard about some breakage in some very extreme use locations where the string breakage would happen in any piano, but even with those the number of broken strings has been greatly reduced.

     

    Based on the list above of causes, here is what I recommend when strings are beginning to break in a heavily played piano:

    • If the strings are more than 5 years old and are breaking, all of the strings in the weak area should be replaced.  It is foolish to just replace the strings which broke and service the hammers – the rest of the wire has been weakened and will still break!
    • While the strings are out, file down on the front and back of the V under the capo to sharpen it.  Then smooth the tip of the V to eliminate all remaining string grooves.  Sand with fine emery cloth, then polish with 600 grit paper.  I also like to paint the resulting shiny contact area with McLube 444 before installing new strings.
    • If the duplex string rests are high, they can be filed down while the strings are out.  It is tedious, but a short length of thin file can be used to reduce the string angle to a reasonable level.  I have done this on quite a few pianos with excellent results, and it takes 2 to 3 hours (in addition to all the other work, of course).  I also polish the contact area and add McLube to the duplex bars as well.
    • For very heavy players, the Paulello XM wire also seems to hold up a little better, so you can string with this wire (it's easy to buy from them directly from France using PayPal, just do an internet search for it).
    • Once restrung, then reshape the hammers to eliminate string grooves and restore the original pointed treble hammer shape.
    • Regulate the action!

     

    When all of this is done, the piano will be at least as reliable as when it is new, and if you have made the V sharper and lowered the string angle the breakage will most likely completely stop until the hammers become flattened again.

     

    Don Mannino

    Kawai America

     

    Sent from Mail for Windows 10

     






  • 13.  RE: String Breakage Yamaha and Kawai

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 03-04-2019 21:24
    Thanks Don, but I think Kawai's testing does verify everything if you consider that the string is able to work harden the surface of a soft V-bar as it is tuned.

    After all I have been shaping V-bars to my specifications much longer than Kawai and I am able to observe many of them over time.

    Welcome to the club my friend!

    Next thing you know you will realize that my Fully Tempered Duplex Scale is the complete picture of treble string tone and longevity.

    ------------------------------
    Edward McMorrow
    Edmonds WA
    425-299-3431
    ------------------------------



  • 14.  RE: String Breakage Yamaha and Kawai

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 03-05-2019 00:36
    Ed, I don't believe cast iron can be work hardened, though hardening can of course be achieved via heating and quenching.
    Do you have any metallurgical literature you can cite which describes work hardening of cast iron - especially by simple one-time deformation such as bringing the string to pitch?

    ------------------------------
    John Rhodes
    Vancouver WA
    360-721-0728
    ------------------------------



  • 15.  RE: String Breakage Yamaha and Kawai

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 03-05-2019 10:52
    Thanks John,
    I have found nothing in the literature to support work-hardening of the V-bar from the piano wire but examining how the grooves take a "set" and don't deform any more over time makes me wonder if that is happening on some very small scale right at the contact surface. So you are correct it is conjecture on my part.

    The "tuning" feel of hard bars is "catchy". One can feel the string being abraded when you tune. The string just doesn't render with the same smoothness and when you remove an old string you can see the flat spot on the wire is some combination of bending and abrasion. This wear is compounded by the fact the "sticky" strings make one move the wire more back and forth across the V-bar trying to get the string in tune and set. 

    And the only logical conclusion can be that the carbon at the string contact point of a case-hardened V-bar is more diamond like than graphite and this causes the abrasion.

    ------------------------------
    Edward McMorrow
    Edmonds WA
    425-299-3431
    ------------------------------



  • 16.  RE: String Breakage Yamaha and Kawai

    Posted 03-06-2019 00:28
    Thank you, Don, for another valuable and cogent commentary on an important topic. I continue to be amazed at your willingness to pass on valuable insights that the Kawai company has developed through impressive R&D on more pianos than any of us can see in 100 lifetimes!

    Doug

    Doug Wood, RPT
    206-935-5797






  • 17.  RE: String Breakage Yamaha and Kawai

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 03-06-2019 10:48
    Doug,
    Thanks for the "No thanks". It lets everyone know where you stand. 
    Ed

    ------------------------------
    Edward McMorrow
    Edmonds WA
    425-299-3431
    ------------------------------



  • 18.  RE: String Breakage Yamaha and Kawai

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 03-06-2019 19:51
    It's important to remember that pianos (all pianos!) are not designed to withstand intense usage.  Their parts will wear out quicker under intense use circumstances, just like an automobile that is subjected to a heavy footed driver (both on the accelerator and the brakes)...things (many things) are going to wear out much faster than if a reasonable approach is taken to driving. Parts will need to be replaced far more frequently with intense use.

    Warranties on pianos are predicated on "normal" use, not heavy institutional usage. Owners and institutions need to understand this.  Many do not, thinking their piano was built to "last a lifetime".  Fake news.

    Pwg

    ------------------------------
    Peter Grey
    Stratham NH
    603-686-2395
    pianodoctor57@gmail.com
    ------------------------------



  • 19.  RE: String Breakage Yamaha and Kawai

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 03-06-2019 20:28
    To quote the famous Indiana Jones on this topic, “It’s not the years, honey, it’s the mileage.”

    Completely applicable to piano use as well.

    Kathy




  • 20.  RE: String Breakage Yamaha and Kawai

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 03-06-2019 21:44
    I can report that pianos with proper string terminations that minimize destruction of the wire at the termination point and maximize the pivot termination principle have strings that can endure quite severe use.

    If you add in low-mass hammers, with densified, firm action centers and key bushings: the action lasts a long time too. 

    I have music teachers pianos that get used several hours a day every day that have 30 years of use on them and the hammers only need shaping in the treble and the key-bushings redone to put them back in like new utility. These are pianos I rebuilt.

    What we in the industry have come to accept as "normal" produces a very poor cost benefit ratio for pianists.

    ------------------------------
    Edward McMorrow
    Edmonds WA
    425-299-3431
    ------------------------------



  • 21.  RE: String Breakage Yamaha and Kawai

    Posted 03-07-2019 07:44

    I was left confused by Mannino's post because of the contradiction.


    First, he started off saying it's the pianist fault strings are breaking due to excessive playing. Then saying string breakage was the technicians fault because of poor maintenance (let off too close, not replacing strings on a regular basis, not filing hammers, etc).

    Then he says this about how Kawai fixed the string breaking problem:

    "In the newest Kawai grands, the capo bar radius has been reduced to about 2mm, and the iron is being tempered slightly. In addition, the string angle has been reduced to about 17° - 18° so that the string is not being forced to dig into the capo bar V as deeply.  We have had absolutely no complaints of string breakage since these changes were implemented!"

    Doesn't that show that the first points made were not the case?
    -chris



    ------------------------------
    Troubles are Bubbles, and they just float away.
    chernobieffpiano.com
    grandpianoman@protonmail.com
    Knoxville, TN
    865-986-7720
    ------------------------------



  • 22.  RE: String Breakage Yamaha and Kawai

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 03-07-2019 16:36

    Chris,

     

    These are not contradictory causes, they are all contributing causes.  I also wrote:

     

    "If a piano is breaking treble strings, the technician must look at all of the variables that contribute, and not look at one cause."

     

    If someone asks you why a piano goes out of tune, you can say it is the weather, it is the amount of playing, it is something in the piano, or it could be the tuner. These are all contradictory causes, right? 

     

    So it is not necessarily just one cause, it is one or more factors that contribute to breaking treble strings.

     

    Don Mannino

    Sent from Mail for Windows 10

     






  • 23.  RE: String Breakage Yamaha and Kawai

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 03-07-2019 22:07
    What Don is saying makes perfect sense to me. I replace a lot of strings on a Kawai grand seriously overplayed by a Korean pianist.
    This is very familiar ground. She has moderated the worst of her jamming, forcing technique, but the wire remembers what she did before.

    Tight letoff and flattened unfiled hammers would definitely make the problem worse.

    I hope to see some of the new grands with the altered geometry at some point. Don, does the changed angle alter the tone? And I can imagine the rendering being easier during tuning if the front duplex isn't at as steep an angle.

    ------------------------------
    Susan Kline
    Philomath, Oregon
    ------------------------------



  • 24.  RE: String Breakage Yamaha and Kawai

    Posted 03-07-2019 23:01
    Speaking of angles: anyone have a reliable method of measuring the angle between front duplex and speaking length? This is something that can be addressed in the field, and it would be very helpful to be able to know when it is appropriate.

    Doug

    Doug Wood, RPT
    206-935-5797






  • 25.  RE: String Breakage Yamaha and Kawai

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 03-08-2019 00:06
    Just cut some sample angles out of stiff plasticized paper and compare them to what is in the piano. Use a protractor to make samples at 15, 20, 25, 30 degrees. Use a small stick to extend the speaking length line under the capo towards the plate flange. Make marks on the stick to measure the duplex length height from the straight line and then transfer that over to the sample angles.

    But beware, if you modify a Steinway you will have to remove the fallboard decal or risk being charged with copyright infringement, even if it solves a problem the customer wants solved.

    ------------------------------
    Edward McMorrow
    Edmonds WA
    425-299-3431
    ------------------------------



  • 26.  RE: String Breakage Yamaha and Kawai

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 03-08-2019 06:52
    Use an angle gauge such as wixey or an angle app on your smartphone. Place a ruler or short level on each segment and the gauge or the edge of the phone on it. The difference between the segments is the angle between them.

    ------------------------------
    Mario Igrec, RPT
    http://www.pianosinsideout.com
    ------------------------------



  • 27.  RE: String Breakage Yamaha and Kawai

    Posted 03-08-2019 01:29
    Once again a fantastically illuminating discussion, this time on treble string breakage and on several contributing factors. I wonder if those factors are similar to another vexing problem.

    Some time ago I was working under Alan Eder at CalArts, and an older C7, F series, Yamaha in the jazz room, had an issue with a few treble strings just going wildly out of tune by comparison with other strings. The whole piano overall was pretty decently tuning stable, but these selfsame strings were not. They would go out of tune a lot, 5-10c or so, in a fairly short time, even overnight, as I recall. When this happens, it doesn’t matter that the rest of the piano is in tune and tuning stable. The player will stab an irritated finger on the offending note(s) and rightfully complain about how “out of tune” the piano is.

    The tuning pins on these strings weren’t loose and didn’t feel necessarily different than neighboring strings which were stable. They didn’t render poorly which would of course contribute to being difficult to tune and to stabilize.

    Alan planned on restringing the entire piano anyway (which solved the problem). I think he chalked it up to metal fatigue in those bad strings.

    I remember reading that Jim Busby mentioned in an article that when notes go out in the upper treble like that, he knew it was time to restring at least those sections. I also remember something to the effect that we tune strings to a certain percentage towards their breaking point. Since the treble strings are thinner etc I seem to recall that those upper treble string’s tensions are drawn closer to their breaking point than other strings?

    I would love to hear if those “contributing factors” to treble strings which quickly and habitually go out of tune are related to the same breaking treble string issues. I suspect they are.

    Sean McLaughlin
    Lead Piano Technician
    UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music
    Los Angeles, California
    310-825-7058




  • 28.  RE: String Breakage Yamaha and Kawai

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 03-08-2019 07:54
    I had posed about that situation once upon a time. (Just for the record, it was a a Yamaha C7E.) The individual strings that would not hold tune were in both the tenor (agraffe) and treble (capo) sections.. As Sean mentioned, the tuning pins had adequate torque. Also, the bridge pins were snug as a bug in a rug (as they are on all of our Yamahas!).

    Restringing (including agraffe replacement and capo dressing) solved the problem, so we can deduce that the issue was with the strings at their proximal termination (closest to the player), rather than some other factor. I'm guessing more the strings themselves, than the termination point. Sound is noticeably improved, and unison stability has returned. (Only wish I knew back then how much better Grandt bass strings would have sounded compared to the ones we used in that instance.)

    Alan

    ------------------------------
    Alan Eder, RPT
    Herb Alpert School of Music
    California Institute of the Arts
    Valencia, CA
    661.904.6483
    ------------------------------



  • 29.  RE: String Breakage Yamaha and Kawai

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 03-08-2019 10:03
    Another possibility for measuring in the field (using what's available at the moment) is to simply straighten a large paperclip, or another piece of wire, and experimentally match the angle: insert it from the tuning pin side, align the initial experimental bend with the capo, rest the proximal end on the duplex, observe how close it is to the string lever. Remove and and adjust until you get it right. Transfer the angle to a piece of paper with a pencil. 

    Cheap, crude, but done with care you will get an accurate measurement.






  • 30.  RE: String Breakage Yamaha and Kawai

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 03-08-2019 11:08
    I had a very nice tuning experience yesterday that falls within this topic of discussion. The piano is an Estonia L190 grand, about two years old. If all pianos would tune as nicely as this one! Besides very smooth tuning pin torque, the strings rendered smoothly. The piano was low in pitch so a pitch raise was necessary. Consequently, I had the opportunity to feel the smooth rendering via the pitch raise and fine tuning. Note the attached pictures of the front and rear aliquots. Now that is a sharp termination point! The capo looked fairly sharp as well; perhaps 2-3mm radius. (The front and rear duplex segments were nicely tuned. I did not measure the front duplex angle but it was not high.) Time will tell how well the strings will continue to render smoothly. I hope I have this customer for a long time to see how well this easy to tune piano holds up.

    ------------------------------
    [Don] [McKechnie,] [RPT]
    [Piano Technician]
    [dmckech@ithaca.edu]
    [Home 607.277.7112]
    ------------------------------



  • 31.  RE: String Breakage Yamaha and Kawai

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 03-08-2019 13:21
    I just did a warranty tuning on a brand new Estonia grand. Exceedingly clean-tuning piano! It had so much clarity and so few false beats that it could be polished to a fine sheen (and needed to be, one could hear ANYTHING.) Yes, excellent rendering.

    As for a Yamaha where high treble strings suddenly would go way out of tune, I believe I remember Joel Rappaport telling me that this indicates a string elongating just prior to breakage. He also said that strings which "warbled" (big wobbly vibrato) were doing the same thing. They were elongating, but not evenly, hence the vibrato.

    So, if a string is doing this, it's giving you fair warning that you should replace it as soon as you can instead of waiting for the inevitable.

    ------------------------------
    Susan Kline
    Philomath, Oregon
    ------------------------------



  • 32.  RE: String Breakage Yamaha and Kawai

    Member
    Posted 04-30-2019 14:31

    Just to clarify, we J.D. Grandt indeed carry 1lb Paulello wire, XM, M, 0, 1 in most common gauges and both polished or nickel plated.

    We order in 5lb rolls for our own bass string winding operations.  If anyone prefers 5lb rolls, if we don't have enough on hand, we can order more with our next shipment (every few months). 



    ------------------------------
    John Schienke
    J.D. Grandt Piano Supply Co.
    Newmarket ON
    905-773-0087
    ------------------------------



  • 33.  RE: String Breakage Yamaha and Kawai

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 04-30-2019 14:44
    I feel that their prices are very fair. They also were able to invoice our SOM in US dollars which is great, otherwise the P-card people "upstairs" at most Universities go absolutely NUTS if you try to purchase something other than US currency amounts.

    (I'm exaggerating but not much!)
    The XM is the only type of Paullello wire I have tried-I love it! I've only had one broken sting (out of about 20 replaced) in our piano major area since I began using this stuff a coupe of years ago. And we have ALL KINDS of string breakers at Tech! 



    ------------------------------
    [Kevin] [Fortenberry] [RPT]
    [Staff Techician]
    [Texas Tech Univ]
    [Lubbock] [TX]
    [8067783962]
    ------------------------------