Bass Strings Revisited

[Roger Jolly]

Greetings All,
               Having made a similar copy of Ray's bass string 'gizmo' you
can buy 1" diameter pulley wheels, made of a sturdy nylon with ball bearing
centre, at drapery supply company's.
  One of the best quick tips at the last convention Ray, thanks.
  An added tip to revitalize bass strings that have been taken off.  Whip
the string on to the floor a couple of times, after rubbing down with oooo
steel wool.
Regards Roger

At 09:09 PM 1/8/98 -0700, you wrote:
>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  
>
>
Roger Jolly
Balwin Yamaha Piano Centres.
Saskatoon/Regina.
Canada.