Difficult string replacement

[Arlie D. Rauch]

I was tuning the 12th and last piano late in the evening for a high school
music festival the next day.  The last time through, a string broke
(G35-G#36, I think, with 20 gauge wire).  This was on a Hamilton studio
#169090.

The tuning pins on this piano are very close together in this area, and
that created some difficulty.  I could hardly use a string lifter because
of the close quarters.  I take pride in my coils, and this did not turn out
to be the best.  The stiff wire adds to the difficulty.

If I had removed the capo bar, installation of the string would have been
somewhat easier.  Do any of you recommend that?  If I had done that, what
would have happened to the overall pitch of the piano?

I am thinking through this so I can do it better next time.

Arlie D. Rauch
Glendive, MT