[CAUT] breaking strings, Kawai KG-2A (1997)

[A440A at aol.com]

Dave writes: 
<< After 3 - 4 years they just get that way.  After restringing the capo
sections they calm down for a while and then in a few years it's time to
do the whole piano.  Kawai's might be more prone to that than some, but
our practice room pianos now are all Steinways and they do the same
thing.  It really is string fatigue.  They pretty much all break at the
capo bar. >>

  I will ditto that for the Yamahas we have at Vanderbilt.  after three 
years, I am replacing, on average, two-three strings per week among the 7 C-2's in 
the practise rooms.  The softly voiced pianos break them as commonly as the 
harsh ones.   
   The Steinway's are no exception,  I had three strings break on a pair of 
L's that were no more than 6 months old.  Oddly enough, two of these strings 
broke at the bridge, which is something I have seen only once before in 30 
years.  
    Carbon steel has a finite number of times it will allow its plastic 
deformation limit to be exceeded. A steady stream of testosterone-poisoned Liszt wa
nnabes is hard on the pianos, but good on job security.  I do think that the 
Mapes Gold series of wire is more durable than the stock Yamaha wire.  I know 
that the Yamaha bass strings will break right at the coil if the string lifter 
flexes them more than once. 
   I say, "let'em break, that is what I am there for."
 
Ed Foote RPT 
http://www.uk-piano.org/edfoote/index.html
www.uk-piano.org/edfoote/well_tempered_piano.html