Yamaha GH-1 Grand

[Billbrpt]

<< Please stop taking POT SHOTS with every post!
  
  >  If you do not have the ability or want to for
  >  >    Bill Bremmer RPT
  >   Madison, Wisconsin
  >
       Regards, Don   >>
 
 >Sorry Don, I did not perceive it as a "pot shot."
 
 Dave Peake, RPT >>

   I have simply been deleting unread anything on my screen from the above
person for some weeks now.  It seems that this is what is important to him
however and it gets through anyway.  I told him privately that I had been
warned by several people that there was mostly crap on this List and he was
proof of it.  It's time for a public annoncement of that.

   Now back to the subject.  If you go for rescaling,  I'd suggest going with
Del's recommendation that you lead into the low tenor, not just the 4 or six
lowest unisons.  If you go for a complete rescaling, which would mean a
compltete restringing, you could also make sure that you have very good pin
torque to start off with but the flip side of that is that you would have a
period of normal instability for the new strings.

   For the best stability, you need to keep your tension as even as possible
across the scale and as high as you can in the low tenor.  If the conversion
to wound strings in the low tenor is a problem, you can have Schaff piano
Supply make the strings up as "universal" strings (with a hexagonal core).
Then, your hitch pin placement will not be so critical and you can tailor the
winding to fit the piano precisely.  Be careful when you trim the windings
that you leave them secure and that you give them a good twist or they might
buzz after installation.

   The two string bichord alternative I suggested was not really for this
piano but some other one you may encounter.  Del is right about what they
sound like and I did include that in my remarks.  Heavier plain wire will give
better stability but you can only go so far with it before it sounds really
loud and brassy.  This is the reason for cutting down to two strings.  They
will still sound strange but if you have four of them in a row, for example,
they can be voiced along with the heavier trichords above them to give some
sense of evenness.  The piano will have an entirely different character in
that region.  Many spinet pianos are scaled that way, as are some old
uprights.

   As for tuning stability, don't forget the obvious, a humidity control
system.  If you do nothing more than this, you'll have better stability.

    There is a lot for your customer to consider.  If you go with a complete
rescaling, it does seem as though she should have simply bought a higher grade
piano.  Therefore, if rescaling is the choice, I think it makes sense to do a
partial rescaling of the lowest octave or so of the low tenor.  You should
make your price well worth it to you and that price should include multiple
"free" service calls to retune that portion as it settles in.  Otherwise, your
job could easily be seen as "no improvement" if not worse than before as far
as stability.

Good luck,

Bill Bremmer RPT
Madison, Wisconsin