Samick Grand Bass String Breakage Part2

[Larry T. Brannin]

---------- Forwarded Message ----------

From: CCMAIL:Don Mannino at yca, CCMAIL:Don Mannino at yca
TO:   Larry T. Brannin, 74651,1154
DATE: 4/24/95 5:38 PM

RE:   Re: Samick Grand Bass String Breakage Part2

     Hey there,

     I've been following the discussions about string breakage, and I'd
     like to offer my opinion.

     At Young Chang we get similar calls concerning any model, and almost
     always in churches.  When I was tuning independently in San Diego I
     had a few churches which broke bass strings regularly, in different
     brands.  I remember a Steinway L, a Yamaha P2, and a Baldwin R
     specifically.  I never tuned many Samicks, so I don't have direct
     experience with this model.

     Bass strings rarely break from a miss-shapen Agraffe. The brass is
     soft enough that the string immediately compresses any sharpness in
     the hole; It just isn't feasible that the brass would injure the wire.

     An excessively sharp angle could be a problem, but this would occur
     mostly during tuning. Once the string is set the angle won't affect
     the string during use, and will not contribute to fatigue unless it is
     worked hard during tuning.

     The following are the main causes of string breakage:
     1. Style of playing (not just how hard)
        a. Lots of damper pedal use
        b. Rapid repetition of notes
     2. Condition of the hammers
     3. Volume of the piano in relation to other instruments in the church.

     First, if there are _any_ string grooves in the hammer, then shape the
     hammers. Take a little extra off of the shoulders to give a slightly
     smaller strike area at the top. Don't get carried away with this - we
     don't want to ruin the hammers, just slightly alter the shape at the
     tops.  The longer the string grooves become, the more stress on the
     string termination nearest the tuning pins.

     Next, adjust the damper pedal so that it just lifts the minimum
     amount off of the strings. Set the stop so that they clear
     completely, but no more than necessary. This will insure that the
     dampers have a chance to absorb a little more energy when the pianist
     is keeping time with the damper pedal.

     Finally, look at the other instruments in the church, and find out if
     the piano is being amplified. Many times the other instruments in the
     room are loud and the pianist cannot hear themselves play. Even
     though the piano may be loud enough to the congregation, the pianist
     is trying to get the emotional feed-back, so can really get going on
     the piano. The answer is a monitor speaker on the floor next to the
     pianist, with the piano sound coming through plenty loud enough from
     the pianist to hear themselves play.

     I have a rule of thumb regarding string breakage in emotional Gospel
     music style churches; If the name of the church has fewer than 4
     words in it, then the first string will break after about 2 years. If
     there are 4 or more words in the church's name, then subtract 2
     months for each word in the church name, and _that_ is when the first
     string will break.
     (BG)

     I don't think Samick uses Korean wire for the bass string cores - I
     thought their literature states that they (like Young Chang) use
     Rolsau steel wire, so the wire strength shouldn't be the issue. The
     scale design could, of course, and it's true that most Oriental
     pianos (and many European ones) bring the tension up pretty far in
     the bass, with breaking percents over 80%. A lower tension scale will
     help, but the tone will definitely be changed.

     Don Mannino, RPT