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  • 1.  Twist and Shout!

    Posted 08-14-2022 21:36
    I have rediscovered the amazing results that can come from twisting bass strings! Had a customer that was gifted an old Pease baby grand. It tuned up fine but the bass was really tubby. Checked the bridge and it seemed to be attached well so I thought, oh well, lots of these little grands have a tubby bass section. But the next time I tuned it I decided to twist the first bass string at the break and wow! It came to life! Made an appointment to twist about half the section and it sounds really nice now. There's another old Knabe grand that I have serviced many years at a middle school and the first note in the bass section has always been tubby. (The rest of the bass sounds fine.) So, after my experience with the Pease I decided to twist that one too. Again, wow! It came to life so well that I decided I wouldn't twist the other one or might be too bright. This is something I learned from the start in the school I went to and somehow I fail to think of doing it 🤔🤨 But I'm doin' now!

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    "That Tuning Guy"
    Scott Kerns
    Lincoln, Nebraska
    www.thattuningguy.com
    PianoMeter, TuneLab & OnlyPure user
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  • 2.  RE: Twist and Shout!

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 08-15-2022 01:12
    Scott,
    I wrote a short PTJ article a few years ago describing how I have turned bass strings for over 30 years.
    I untwist them several turns, then give them an extra full or half twist and reinstall them.  I typically do every other string to avoid losing tension and pitch.  This even works on previously twisted strings (you might not want to add more twists to an over-twisted string).
    The process is fast and worthwhile with an 80% success rate (don't ask me what that means).

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    Blaine Hebert RPT
    Duarte CA
    (626) 795-5170
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