Bass Strings Revisited

[Ray Hopland]

List;

        The reason bass strings to go dead is because corrosion builds up
between the coils of the wrap which causes the string to lose flexability.
The only way to bring the flexabiliy back is to disturb the coils (wrap) big
time.  Twisting the strings will not work unless the wrap is slightly loose
but not loose enough to buzz and there is still lots of flex.  I have a tool
that I call a bass string rejuvinator.  It consists of a piece of wood about
1 & 1/8" by 3/4" by 14" (being a canuk, it is a handle from a used hockey
stick with the tape intact) with two pulleys mounted on it.  These pulleys
are about an inch in diameter and are spaced about 1 & 5/8" apart.These
pullleys can come from a small block and tackle lift or an outdoor
clothsline spacer.  Remove the pulleys and screw them on the stick.  You can
also lubricate the pulley where the screw goes through but be very careful
that no lubrication is able to come in contact with the string.  Loosen the
wound strings, disconnect them from the hitch pins and thread them onto a
wire or whatever else is handy.  Take each string and thread it through the
pulleys in an S shape, run the stick up and down the string changing angles
and threading and then put the string back on the hitch pin.  It dosen't
take much and the strings will in most cases sound like new.  HOWEVER,  you
must be VERY careful with the smaller diameter copper wound strings as you
can go right through the copper to the core if you are too eager.  Don't ask
me how I know.  Obviously a new set of string are preferable but if money is
a problem, I have no problems with helping someone out on a limited budget.

        As far as new strings are concerned, I believe that if they are made
properly, they do not need to be twisted when installed.  The only reason
they should be twisted is if they are buzzing due to a loose wrap which
means they weren't made properly.  The twisted section of the loop will
unwrap about 1/8 to 1/4 of a turn and a string maker will put the winding on
so the coil will tighten as the twisted part of the loop will slightly
untwist.  This is why a newly installed bass string will sound better the
next day.  In the majority of the pianos that I restring, the strings are
not twisted when I take the old strings off, only a 1/8 to a 1/4 turn. There
have even been some examples of newer pianos that have had overpowering
upper partials that I have gotten rid of by untwisting twisted new strings.

Ray Hopland, RPT