[pianotech] broken strings

[Dale Erwin]

Jurgen
  All true and a good prescription needed to prevent the same recurrence.
 Yes and how to deal with the heavy handed player?
 A church I service has a Baldwin C we rebuilt many decades ago.  They had a guy who could pretty much break strings at will. I said next time give him the bill.  They did. He refused to pay. so... In fact he was banned. He had broken several string. It was getting annoying and expensive.
 Many moons later I changed out the hammers and the bass strings again.  Much better  hammers of some sort and GC bass strings. No more broken strings.



Dale Erwin R.P.T.
Erwin's Piano Restoration Inc.
 Mason & Hamlin/Steinway/U.S. pianos
www.Erwinspiano.com
Phone: 209-577-8397

 
  





-----Original Message-----
From: Jurgen Goering <pianoforte at pianofortesupply.com>
To: pianotech <pianotech at ptg.org>
Sent: Fri, Jun 22, 2012 6:20 pm
Subject: [pianotech] broken strings


I will go out on a limb, make some assumptions and  draw some conclusions based on those.  Please tell me if I am way off base.


I think the operative word that many responders may have overlooked is "music director".  I take it this piano is in a church.  I further assume it is used in "contemporary" church music, i.e. it is competing with  a heavenly rock and roll band.  Amateur drum players are seemingly incapable of nuanced or soft playing, so the bass player turns his amp up, and the guitar player then cranks it up to 11.   If this is the case, the pianist is surely pounding the keys (usually with the pedal to the metal) which causes string material fatigue and breakage at the terminations.


Regulation, hammer filing and softening, and new strings and hammers might help to a certain degree, but they do not address the actual problem.


The problem is the pounding of the player.  Solution:  the piano needs to be miked and the player needs his own piano monitor directly beside him, cranked up loudly,  so that he can hear himself play.  The he (she) will not feel moved to pound as much.





Jurgen Goering
www.pianofortesupply.com




On Thu Jun 21 21:45:43, Greg Hollister wrote:


I am servicing a Young Chang grand with a history of string breakage in the top 3 octaves of the piano. The hammers have never been shaped and are quite flat . I'm going to restore the hammer shape but  I'm not sure that's the whole story.  Obviously the pianist has been getting carried away with his right hand, but are the strings themselves ever to blame? I've told the music director that shaping and voicing the hammers may not be a cure all for the breakage but that it will be worth doing in any case.  I guess I just looking for some feedback as to whether I'm taking this in the right direction.  I appreciate any help.










 
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