Dave, Welcome! I've heard the term "stiction" used in des- cribing those stuck strings. Perhaps if the soda is the problem, cleaning/restringing is the only solution. When I started at Illinois Wesleyan, there were several pianos with stiction due to old rusty strings and worn capo bars. Yikes, I was at wit's end. Taking a chance, I went to the local Napa (auto supply) store, bought some Marvel Mystery Oil-- suggested by a friend--and put a tiny, tiny amount at the point where the strings meet the agraffe or capo bar. I've used both a small artist's brush and a wedge of hammer felt. One must use this with extreme care so it does not drip and since this stuff will creep, care must be taken that it doesn't creep up the string into the pinblock. Since the pianos I was treating, were in such horrible shape, I didn't have much to lose. The pianos still, after five years, re- spond quite well. And, praise God, IWU is finally gearing up for a rebuilding program (sometimes it takes a while to educate educators). This is probably one of those solutions that one is never supposed to use and I may have my RPT-dom stripped for suggesting it. Just remember, don't use enough Marvel Mystery Oil that it could possibly drip, and be sure to use Marvel Mystery Oil--no other--it doesn't have a bad smell and it does the job. No, I don't hold stock in MMO. Good luck! Barbara Richmond Illinois Wesleyan University Bloomington, Illinois -- Obey gravity; it's the law.
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