ZEBRA STRINGS

[harvey]

Let's break this down some more.

I've seen "zebra" strings that have never been installed, and in fact were
being stored along with other non-zebra strings in the same environment.

Unlike making a set of strings for replacement purposes, for production
requirements it's typical to make 'x' number of strings of the same size,
then go on to the next size (or variations thereof). Perhaps the
string-winder was hot and sweaty, or didn't wear gloves, or wasn't wearing
clean gloves.

Between the string-maker and the plant, maybe the person who unpacked those
strings (500 of #1, 500 of #2, etc.) had temporarily been assigned that job
after just changing the oil on the fork lift.

Otherwise, maybe the factory "monochord" stringer (usually no one person
installs all the strings) had fried chicken for lunch that day?  I'm being
absurd, but not -that- much. The point is, strings go through a lot of
handling by different people before they ever get into a piano, and
corrosion effects, discoloration and dead strings are not always
immediately obvious. Even loose wraps sometimes take a while to appear.

[This is a test: everyone remember the four 'mysterious' dead strings on
earlier Kawai grands?]

Summary: 20-year old Hallet & Davis, and no one has touched the piano.
Someone has to be the first to discover these things. You're the first.



At 10:10 PM 11/10/99 -0500, you wrote:
>Today I performed a pitch raise on a 20 year old Hallet & Davis
>console.  According to the owner, it had not been touched since it was
>delivered new.  Tuning pin torque was pretty uniform throughout.
>Several of the monochord strings were very noticeably dead sounding and
>displayed a uniform tarnish.  However, about half of them had no
>noticeable tarnish and sounded very good (i.e.  A0, A#0, and B0 looked
>like new strings except for being dusty, whereas C1 was very dead and
>tarnished).  There was no particular pattern to this problem.  In the
>bichord section, the strings looked fairly uniform and none was
>remarkably dead sounding.   I was assured by the owner that it had never
>had any strings replaced and he had bought the instrument new.  I
>detected no rust on the strings, v-bar, pressure bar, or any exposed
>steel surfaces.
[snip]

Jim Harvey, RPT
Greenwood, SC
harvey@greenwood.net
________________________
 -- someone who's been in the field too long.