----- ORIGINAL POST ------
Would the experience of this august body find it unusual that a '75 Steinway
B would be ready for a restring with o'sized pins. No extentuating
circumstances, although I did drive the pins 5 years ago. Is a restring after
20 years unheard of?
Bill Ballard RPT "Never try to teach a pig to sing. It wastes time
NH Chapter, PTG and annoys the pig." Sign on the wall of a
college voice teacher's studio.
---- MY REPLY -----
What do you mean by "No extenuating circumstances"? Does this mean the
piano was not subjected to widely fluctuating temperature/humidity con-
ditions, nothing spilled on the bass strings, not a victim of vandalism,
etc......?
At Oberlin, our blocks, in general, (and boards and bridges, for that
matter) are in good shape because of stable temp/humid conditions. De-
cisions to restring are usually made on the basis of string condition;
i.e., are the bass strings still "live", is there excessive string
breakage in the plain wire, etc. In the near future, we will be re-
stringing more pianos because of decisions thatare based on bridge condition; i.e. is recapping
necessary because
string seating on the bridge top has "crept" forward of the bridge
pin (because string has "dug" into bridge top). Cracking on the bridge
at Oberlin (thank goodness) is not an issue by in large.
One word of caution about restringing with oversized pins. We find here
at Oberlin that almost never are 4/0 pins needed. In fact, 3/0 pins
frequently leave us with a tuning pin that is a little too tight if
anything. The Steinway maple block will last a long time under proper
climatic conditions.
Ken Sloane, Oberlin Conservatory
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