false beats

[Roger Jolly]

>I place a block on the keybed as a fulcrum for the 'string leveler' and 
>press the wire
>upwards, first on the duplex side and then on the speaking length. With a 
>dowel and
>hammer I coax the wire around the front duplex.
>
 As an addendum to Jon's suggestion. but I htink we are saying the same thing.
Burnish or massage the string vigorously with a vertical hammer shank. If
the strings show any signs of rust, clean them with a white Scotch Brite
pad. Top and bottom.
If there any little 'kink's' in the wire, you should be able to feel them
through the shank.
First try to massage the kink out, if not change the wire at an appropiate
time.
Allow for a 25 Cent pitch drop with this treatment.  It's not such a good
idea to do this 25min before a recital.  <G>  How do I know, Oops.
The key to tracing false beats, is to follow the wire in an orderly and
logical manner.
1.  Is the wire straight?
2.  Do the termination areas have clean and correct geometry.
3.  Are the termination areas secure, (loose pins)

One final thought. If the area of the dampers is shinny bright, and the
looks like a build up of crud and rustfront and back, this can be a cause.
Clean the strings with a string eraser. This can make a significant
difference.  Remember to get as much of the string underside clean as
possible.
Regards Roger
Roger Jolly
Saskatoon, Canada.
306-665-0213
Fax 652-0505