String Breakage - knots, universals or new

[Billbrpt@AOL.COM]

In a message dated 1/19/99 2:46:15 PM Central Standard Time,
rootfamily@erols.com writes:

<< Rub the new string out and tune it about a half step sharp.  Next
 time, tune it about two beats sharp and you're OK from then on.   No,
 this won't work for singles, but this is not that severe an
 environment.  >>

These were two excellent responses from Carl and Micheal.  I agree with each
and every point they make and I tie lots of knots too.  There are just a
couple of incidental comments I'd like to make.

When installing a new or even a tied lower single string, you can afford to
leave it quite sharp.  With a new one, you can easily leave it 50¢ sharp.  It
will sound terrible the first few days but it won't take long at all for it to
get to the point where it sounds acceptable, gets perfect and keeps on going.
This will happen even with stretching and other settling techniques.

With a tied string, you should leave it sharp just so it sounds on the wrong
side of acceptable vs. unacceptable.  This means a few to several beats sharp.
Even more if the short part of the splice is new material.  These lower
strings are very unstable at first.  Also, an octave in this region of the
piano has a lot more tolerance than the middle does as to what sounds
acceptable.  Therefore, you can use this range to your advantage in
anticipating how the string will behave.  Naturally, in a performance tuning,
you must leave a string in tune.  But in most all other circumstances, you
will be doing both your customer and yourself a favor if you leave the string
real good and sharp.

I'd like to emphasize that North American technicians consider splicing an
essential skill.  It can be done artfully in the most impressively
craftsmanlike way.  I have seen restorations that used the original iron wound
strings that were cleaned and polished.  The few that needed a spliced end had
the smallest, cleanest most nearly invisible knots I've ever seen.

Mr. Tim Farley RPT of Madison (who does not write on nor subscribe to this
List) often does "museum" type restorations or reconditioning of pianos of
lesser value in which as much of the original material as can be reused, is
used.  (He also does complete rebuilding and remanufacturing.)  He ties
strings where he sees it as appropriate.  I learned from him many years ago
that you can splice virtually any gauge of wire, anywhere on any piano.

It is a given that certain situations are more difficult but there are
techniques to accomplish each.  In my opinion,  splicing is generally
preferable to replacement as a field repair. There are exceptions:  new pianos
and when despite your best efforts, the splice is a failure or a wound string
is damaged irreparably.  There may be more instances where a replacement is
preferred but whatever the advantage, the subsequent instability will be a
long term problem and nuisance, no matter what.

I suggest approaching knot tying as an artful technique and try to learn to
tie the smallest, least barbed and protruding knot you can.  Use your head in
the situations where the knot would lie at a termination point.  Ask yourself,
"How might the knot be relocated?" and find a way.

 I have tied knots on many Yamaha P-22's where the highest single string had a
tendency to break until a scale design change was made.  There is only about
an inch from the tuning pin to the V-bar.  Yes, I have failed at this too and
had to replace the string.  The splicing is always preferable to both me and
the customer because of the lesser amount of instability.  Many of these are
school pianos.  They can't afford to pay what a service call to retune one
string is really worth.  You can't afford to do it for nothing.

Bill Bremmer RPT
Madison, Wisconsin