[pianotech] String Guarantee Issues

[Mark Wisner]

Call the string maker and explain the situation.  As a courtesy, they may send you the strings you need at no charge.  They may not, though; there is a lot that can go wrong with a bass string that isn't related to a manufacturing or materials flaw. 
This does bring up something I've noticed over time, and that is that twisting a bass string to eliminate a problem frequently just postpones the problem. 

Mark Wisner

-----Original Message-----
>From: pcpoulson at sbcglobal.net
>Sent: May 8, 2009 7:20 AM
>To: pianotech at ptg.org
>Subject: [pianotech] String Guarantee Issues
>
>Good Morning: I am dealing with a problem with the bass strings I put in a baby grand in 2007. Approximately 6 months after I restrung the piano,some of the monochords started rattling, so I loosened them, put a twist in each one, and retuned them, which seemed to remedy the situation. I bought these strings from a supply house who has them made by a string maker in the East. Three months later I came to retune the piano and found the same problem. I have an occastional string go bad on me before, but never so many and never so soon. I called the supply house, who told me that strings were not made by them, but by the string maker they contract with whose guarantee to replace defective strings is only six months long. I now have a customer with a piano that has 8 out of 10 monochords needing to be replaced. It is my belief that it is the supply house's duty to replace these defective strings, as it is the business that I bought them from. If a part that I install fails, I wouldn't tell my customer to call my supplier to complain - I am the guarantor. I feel that my supplier should replace these strings without a charge. Of course, the labor to install and retune the strings I will have to eat myself.
>Any feedback on this situation would be appreciated.
>Thank you,
>Patrick C. Poulson
>Registered Piano Technician
>Piano Technicians Guild