Gordon, What did the piano sound like, before you took the strings off. I.E. was it a bit wild with unwanted harmonics, etc.? If the answer is yes, then I would probably add some understringing felt 3/8" to 1/2" wide, no more. If you don't know the answer, then you can always weave some braid in after, if the Harmonics thing is a bit much. Some times, if the piano doesn't have enough "Zing" to it, I will add brass 1/2 round or oval round bars, in the appropriate places, to "bring it up". This will sometimes aid in better string rendering between the tuning pin and the speaking length. (Lots of reasons for doing this.) I've seen a lot of Small pianos that didn't have anything to stop the "non-speaking lengths" from sounding. I suspect to "make the piano sound bigger". <G> One thing, If you are having the bass/tenor strings "scaled", then you'd be well advised to scale the rest of the piano, as well. The reason being, that, #1 Starr pianos are bit suspect in their Quality Control and in their choice of "scaling", IMHO. How do I know this? I own a 7'10" one. (Nuff said there!) More often than not I find scales to be pretty screwed up, in the tenor/treble/upper treble area. Some due to poor bridge making/notching and some just bad "pirated" scales being used. So, take that few extra hours to take the speaking lengths and re-calc that treble as well. Just my thoughts. Best Regards Joe Garrett, RPT, (Oregon) Squares Are Grand Too!<G>
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