Warbling piano wire

[BSimon999@AOL.COM]

Today I tuned (with a 75cts PR) a Julius Bauer console that had the most 
interesting, and lousy, strings of any piano I have ever tuned.

95% of the plain strings had a very fast false beat, giving each individual 
string an annoying fast vibrato that muddied the tone produced. The SAT had 
no trouble keying on the right partial, and the unisons would drop in and go 
beatless as usual, but each string would sit there and warble like a bird. A 
beatless unison sounded like three drunk birds, very far away, were trying to 
harmonize with it. I will swear it wasn't the effect of a partial, or 
voicing.  The vibrato was apparent even when the string was plucked (at 
different points) and when I stuck a soft temperment strip between it and the 
hammer.  The hammers are more dead than alive, the piano has no power at all. 
 About one string in every octave sounded out clear as a bell. Go figure.

I figured it was caused by some defect in the wire, but this effect was new 
to me, and I ain't new.  Has anyone else ever had something like this? I 
would welcome any explanations or suggestions on what to try when I return to 
it.

Time constraints precluded me from a microscopic examination of the bridge ( 
or seating the strings on the bridge)  but the v-bar looked all right.  I do 
expect to see this piano again, as the owner was absolutely delighted with 
the tuning to A440.  After all, it was the FIRST tuning since he bought it 
10? years ago.  (  Tuned,  it sounded awful. )

( They said it was 12 years old, but I could find no serial numbers and the 
Atlas only lists up to 1938 anyway. It looks like an Aeolian, but was 
presumably made by Wurlitzer.)

Thank you for any input,

Bill Simon
Phoenix