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  • 1.  # of tunings for new bass or twisting

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 06-24-2019 15:59
    Hi all,
    I may be either twisting all bass strings, or replacing all bass strings (not treble at this point) on a 1934 George Steck grand.. Just wondering, for the purpose of providing a reasonable estimate, how many tunings might be required for stability. Tuning pins are fine, so no replacement at this point.
    My guesses are something like
    twist: 2 tunings
    new set: 4 tunings

    Sound about right?

    thanks!
    Scott

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    Scott Cole, RPT
    rvpianotuner.com
    Talent, OR
    (541-601-9033
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  • 2.  RE: # of tunings for new bass or twisting

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 06-25-2019 01:30
    Scott,

    A very real possibility on 85-year-old bass strings (if original) is that twisting them causes breaks, and that's another set of trouble. I tried to roll a loop in old strings once to get rid of the tubby sound, and the core wire broke at the tuning pin. You don't mention what your goal is for this process.

    Check the archives. Sometime this year I asked for labor estimate on replacing bass strings. There's a good chance that you may have to remove all the dampers for efficiency, and also that you may have to replace all the bass damper felt to get them to work on lively new strings of potentially a different size (I would automatically rescale).

    So tunings are just a part of the potential parts and labor cost.

    --Cy--

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    Cy Shuster, RPT
    Albuquerque, NM
    http://www.shusterpiano.com
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    Original Message


  • 3.  RE: # of tunings for new bass or twisting

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 06-28-2019 07:55
    Scott,

    Your estimate on tunings seems about right. However, I second what Cy wrote, as the damper felt takes on a mirror image of the bass strings as they have been for 85 years. Change that profile with twisting or replacement and they are unlikely to do their job anymore. Expect to replace them. (Or at least warn the client in advance that it's a possible side effect that would need treatment).

    Pwg

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