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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Hi Ben,</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>I have about the same amount of U1s you've got but
mine are spread out at three different locations. I have never had a problem
with bass string breakage but two of the folks who work for me have. While it is
true that these are rather high tension scales a good tuning hammer technique
will avoid confronting that issue head on BANG! My usual technique is to
slightly lean on the pins counter clockwise (leftie loosie) and play the
note at the same time setting the string in motion and then gently jerk the
pins up clockwise (rightsie tightsie). This releases all the bearing
points. Then I set from above as usual and a good test blow. My guys weren't
doing this and just pulling up, and the binding and the high tension together
beat them, BANG!</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2> You could also have these pianos
rescaled by James Arledge or Danny at GC or Jim Sanderson and find a larger
margin for error. I wouldn't do that with Mapes. Of course then you have a
different tone and you have to replace all those sets.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>I've never had a problem with Steinway Ks that way
but did find it with Baldwin 243s.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>I like the U-1 as the best and most servicable
small practice room/cubicle piano.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>BTW if the wrong tuning technique has left the
upper section of the string in a more tense state than the rest of the string
just playing these high tension scales hard will break the strings. Again this a
combination of things that cause the BANG!</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>If you'll be at Clavier this Saturday we can talk
more then.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Best, </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Chris Solliday</FONT></DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE
style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<DIV
style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: black"><B>From:</B>
<A title=blt@igc.org href="mailto:blt@igc.org">Ben Treuhaft</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A title=caut@ptg.org
href="mailto:caut@ptg.org">caut@ptg.org</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Cc:</B> <A title=gfrank@yamaha.com
href="mailto:gfrank@yamaha.com">gfrank@yamaha.com</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Sunday, May 18, 2008 8:18 PM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> [CAUT] Yarmulka u1 bass strings
constantly breaking</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV><FONT face="Verdana, Helvetica, Arial"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12px">dear Collegiate and Universitarianistic tuners, here
at New York University we have about 50 newish u1s, none over 10 yrs old and
most younger than 5. They break bass stgs. Yamaha claims that happens
with every other make of upright in a music school setting. I do not
believe them. Most of our u1s have over 1/2 dozen missing or replaced
bass strings (treble never break). Questions:<BR>1) has anyone
else come across this problem on U1s? Is it truly a universal university
problem for other makes e.g. Steinway K?<BR>2) is there a fix, e.g. get Mapes
to produce a set of lower-tension strings, and replace them all? What
would one say to Mapes? thanks,
Ben<BR> or failing all that, how about a
recommendation of an affordable upright that doesn</SPAN></FONT><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12px"><FONT face="Helvetica, Verdana, Arial">’</FONT><FONT
face="Verdana, Helvetica, Arial">t break all the bass strings<BR></FONT><FONT
face="Comic Sans MS, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial"><B>Benjamin
Treuhaft<BR></B></FONT><FONT
face="Geneva, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial">.·´&hibar;`·.¸¸.><(((((º><BR></FONT><FONT
face="Comic Sans MS, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial"><B>Underwater Piano
Shop<BR></B>39 E. 7th St. #3<BR>New York, NY 10003<BR><B>(212)
505-3173<BR></B><FONT
color=#2800ff><U>BLT@igc.org</U></FONT><B><BR></BLOCKQUOTE></B></FONT></SPAN></BODY></HTML>