cruddy bass strings

[pianoguru at cox.net]

Years ago, I was called to tune a grand piano, at the last minute, before a big event at the Officer's Club, at Elmendorf Air Force Base in Anchorage, Alaska.  They complained about several notes in the bass.  I arrived to tune the piano within hours of the performance, and found that candle wax had been dribbled in little puddles on the plate bars.  The candles were then fixed and held upright in the puddles of wax.  This was done in dozens of places on the plate, evidenced by dribbles of wax on the strings and puddles of wax all over the soundboard.  None of it had more immediate damage then where molten wax dripped onto the copper windings of the bass strings, and immediately sucked into the cavities between the copper and core wires.  I have never heard worse sounding bass strings than these, and no amount of flexing of the string would loosen hardened wax under the windings.  They were toast (buttered toast)!

BTW, this was the same club where I was tuning another piano, in the morning, expecting that I would have the place to myself, in the morning hours.  A Major came over and "ordered" me to stop and go away, because the Colonel at the bar had just lost his son in Viet Nam.  (That should tell you how long ago I was in Alaska.)   I said nothing, but was thinking, "Why isn't he at home comforting his wife."  I went to the club manager's office and explained the situation.  He went into the bar and told the Colonel, "You can pay the piano tuning his charges for tuning the piano, and he will come back at a later time.  Otherwise, he will continue to finish his work."  My experience in the military was as an enlisted member of Air Force bands.  I had never seen anyone stand up to a Colonel like this.  I have no greater respect for the management of a venue where I have done piano work than this, nor, more greater disdained than one that would allow such abuse to a piano.

Frank Emerson