Broken Strings

[Kenneth W. Burton]

	Arthur,
	The best I can do to help you on this matter, is to explain how I
handle the situation.
	When I am explaining to my customer that a pitch-raising is
needed, I always tell them that there is a danger that a string may break.
I add that it's not the end of the world. It can be repaired but there is
a cost.
	Occasionally a string may break during normal tuning but I always
repair it and charge the customer. If I need to explain why, I refer to
the act of taking the car to the garage. If the mechanic breaks a bolt in
the process of installing a new muffler, he replaces it and adds that cost
to the bill. If wasn't his fault that the bolt broke for it was old and
rusty.
	Treble strings can be loosened and pulled around the hitch pin so
that they can be hooked up again. I usually charge $10 for doing this.
Sometimes a new string has to be installed. I charge $15 for a treble
string and $20 for a bass string.
	I'm sure that different charges are appropriate in different parts
of the country but this is what I do in a city of 800,000 in the "frozen
Canadian north." (Where, by the way, we have had melting weather for the
past two weeks and our snow is almost gone.)

	Ken Burton "Doctor Piano" Calgary Alberta

On Fri, 20 Feb 1998, Arthur wrote:

> 
> 	Dear List;
> 	It would be appreciated if you could discuss how you approach the subject
> of Broken 
> 	String, for example. When tuning a string breaks. How do you handle the
> cost to repair
> 	the string? Is the cost explained before you begin? How about strings that
> are rusted,
> 	and might break? Pitch raise? 
> 	Thanks in advance
> 	Arthur 
> 	
> 
>