[pianotech] String breakers - was Petrofs

[Ron Nossaman]

Joe gently mentioned scaling and general piano design in regards to 
chronic string breakers. The music teacher at a school I used to tune 
for continually broke strings on his P22 and his Steinway grand, but 
never on his little old decrepit Gulbransen. He asked why. I told him 
the Gulbransen action was badly enough designed and far enough out of 
regulation to absorb most of the abuse he heaped on it before the it 
ever reached the strings.

Bottom line is, most chronic string breakage, and all chronic string 
breakage in multiple pianos is caused by pathologically deviant 
technique and attitude in the "pianist". I still maintain that no amount 
of counseling, no level of amplified monitoring, no regulation or 
voicing modification, and no design changes not involving severe loss of 
function will EVER change this. It's a psychological thing; a vice (as 
opposed to a vise), and is fed by the damage done, whatever it takes to 
effect that damage. The only hope I see is to make the responsible party 
monetarily responsible for the damage repairs, however extensive. A vice 
that someone else picks up the tab on isn't going to go away.

Ron N