Usable Lifespan (was Re: Confession time)

[Horace Greeley]

Danny,

>Are you indicating that you will re-pin with oversize pins every time
>you re-string?

Maybe.  That's not intended to be obfuscatory, there are simply too many
variables.  However,
If an instrument is being tuned 300+ times per season, it seems to be to be
reasonable to question the integrity of the block more frequently than for
most other use.

>  Is the block on a D or C7 or SD-10 to the point of
>instability in only 5 to 7 years?

I've seen plenty that were, and plenty that weren't.  Besides, I think
you're reading in something I don't think I said.  If the piano starts out
with 2/0s, and you restring the top every two years (using the same pins),
and you restring the entire instrument (on average) every 6 years, then you
will get roughly 12 years (or more) out of a given block - not 5-7.
Certainly I have seen used, and have used, pins larger than 4/0s in Ds,
etc., I just don't like the long-term result, and prefer to start with a
new block, rather than risk stability issues.

> I realize that the "concert"
>instruments you are dealing with get tweaked considerably more than
>those I see down here in Bubbaland, Texas, but we recently replaced the
>bass strings on a C7 in a college setting by carefully backing out 1
>turn (that's the tuning pins OK) just as you might do in normal string
>replacement.  The instrument was probably 18 to 20 years old, and the
>pin torque was well within factory spec.

I am sure the torque was fine, just as I am sure the instrument has not
been tuned as frequently as described above.

We all must remember that, no matter how miniscule the changes,  each
instrument is different each time we see it.  Thus, each service needs to
be an opportunity to reassess the instrument as a whole.

>Just curious.

Me too, keeps things humming.

Best.

Horace




Horace Greeley			hgreeley@leland.stanford.edu

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