I want to thank everyone who replied to my question. I appreciate your taking the time to help.
Ed the tuner
Original Message:
Sent: 3/17/2023 5:30:00 PM
From: Larry Lobel
Subject: RE: 1977 Yamaha G5 with lousy bass strings.
I service several Yamaha concert grands that are 30 to 50 years old, all original and bass sounds great. Maybe they used better quality strings on concert grands. Just to give credit where it's due.
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Larry Lobel RPT
San Francisco chapter
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Original Message:
Sent: 03-17-2023 13:12
From: Alan Eder
Subject: 1977 Yamaha G5 with lousy bass strings.
My experience in this regard is is consistent with Jurgen's. In fact, when some Yamaha techs and corporate folk came to visit Cal Arts recently, I showed them one of our 30-plus year old G1 grands in a practice room. They remarked at how good the sound was, and then I told them that it had Ronsen hammers and GC bass strings.
Big improvements over the original parts.
Alan
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Alan Eder, RPT
Herb Alpert School of Music
California Institute of the Arts
Valencia, CA
661.904.6483
Original Message:
Sent: 03-16-2023 19:34
From: Jurgen Goering
Subject: 1977 Yamaha G5 with lousy bass strings.
Your problem does not come as a surprise to me. It is no secret that Yamaha bass strings often do not have a long lifespan, at least not in terms of musicality.
While I have a few German pianos that still have decent sounding original bass strings at over 100 years of age, often I find Yamaha bass strings begin to die after 30 - 40 years. They lose their roundness and depth of tone, and begin to sound muddy and tubby. New strings will be a huge upgrade for a piano like that.
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Jurgen Goering
Original Message:
Sent: 03-15-2023 12:10
From: Edward Mastin
Subject: 1977 Yamaha G5 with lousy bass strings.
Thank you for taking the time to reply. I have a customer with a new C2 with a wonderful bass. It's a great piano. I'm thinking of calling one of the better base string makers for advice. Usualy the level of pianos I do I go to Mapes and I've been happy. This piano and the theater that has it, deserve a bit better. Thanks again!
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Edward Mastin RPT
RPT
Syracuse NY
(315) 422-1291
Original Message:
Sent: 03-14-2023 15:28
From: James Kelly
Subject: 1977 Yamaha G5 with lousy bass strings.
I have a G2 that has great bass strings and in fact that model was/is considered one of the best Yamaha Grands at 5'8". Anyway I suggest you get a new set of bass strings made and talk with James Arledge or whatever string maker you choose. a 1977 Grand is getting close to 50 years old so there is the age issue. Perhaps you need to run a rescaling program . How is the crown of the soundboard ? Could you describe what a "burble" is ? Maybe the bass strings are not the right size since you mentioned they are thin. I would expect thick, double wound strings on a 6'7" Yamaha
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James Kelly
Owner- Fur Elise Piano Service
Pawleys Island SC
(843) 325-4357
Original Message:
Sent: 03-13-2023 20:44
From: Edward Mastin
Subject: 1977 Yamaha G5 with lousy bass strings.
I want some serious imput on the subject of the single string bass strings on a 1977 Yamaha G5 grand.Pre-emptively, I do not need to hear the argument regarding "Grey Market" Yamahas and if you feel this is the only reason the piano doesn't have a good bass, thank you for not responding.
That being said, the last, (first) strings in the bass, number's 1-6 perhaps are not very rich and have a bit of a burble I hear on all Yamaha grands that include even new C's 1-2. Is this just the way it is. It seems a 6'7" grand should have a bit more clarity. There seems to be ample room for vibration between the bass bridge and the hitch pins unlike smaller grands. The strings do appear rather thin for the notes. Would the next size up help? The piano really sounds pretty good for its age in the growth curve of Yamaha and has not been played hard.Just seeing if I'm the only one who's thought this.
Thank you in advance.
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Edward Mastin RPT
RPT
Syracuse NY
(315) 422-1291
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