"I service a Yamaha grand, Go-J, at an apostolic church. It has suffered several broken bass strings. In the past I have replaced strings nos. Aeneid 35, and there may be more." Regarding the above situation, I've found two tools to be effective. The first is a reprint of the August 1995 PTG Journal (pg. 14) Q&A section regarding bass string breakage. The comments by Scott While, Barbara Richmond and especially Jim Harvey (which are transcript from a discussion on THIS list) are excellent. The second approach is to replace the entire set of bass strings with a new set that has been "modified" to reduce breakage. The string maker ,if you ask, can alter the diameters of the core and wrap wire to produce a new string that, at tension, is further from it's tensile limit than the original. This approach may not eliminate breakage, but it will (in most cases) reduce it significantly. Be aware this approach does trade some sonic quality for reliability, but I suspect the customers that are having chronic string breakage problems are not appreciating the subtleties of the piano tone anyway. By the way, I NEVER suggest replacing the set of bass strings without FIRST getting the information about WHY they are breaking into the hands of the person responsible for the piano service. That sequence makes it very clear where the responsibility for the cost of replacing strings lies, should it become necessary. Mark Wisner Yamaha
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