Broken Strings

[Christopher D. Purdy]

>Hello List,
>	This is my first post - and I don't expect to be a frequent poster.
>I'm a pianist and although I have read Arthur Reblitz's book and have even
>fiddled around with an old upright in the past - I think I'll stick with
>playing.:-)  I have a Yamaha C3 that keeps breaking strings.  I'm up to
>three now.  The piano is only 7 years old and since I've been in college - 3
>years hasn't seen much use at all.  A couple of years ago a bass string went
>out - one from G2 I think - it almost hit me in the eye.  Then early this
>year a treble string broke on me when I was practicing which I decided to
>wait to have replaced because my parents were moving to Florida and (because
>I couldn't find a buyer) were going to take the piano with them.  It hadn't
>been tuned in 3 years - because I wasn't there to play it and my father is
>always upset when something needs service - whether it is a piano or luxury
>car.  It was also very hard to get a technician in the area they lived in
>because there were so few pianos around - especially high quality ones.   I
>had a qualified tuner/technician come to there house in Florida when I was
>visiting this past June and he replaced the string, raised the pitch,
>installed a dampchaser de-humidifier, and after giving me a demonstration -
>softened the hammers with a solution that apparently contains fabric
>softener and alcohol.  This did Improve the tone - which had become too
>bright - I was always dissatisfied that I couldn't play a true ppp, but, it
>wasn't in a big room either.  He said that the hammers were too hard and
>that's why I was breaking strings.  Well, I wondered about this solution -
>because I'd never heard about it before and I try to be an educated consumer
>(he said that you couldn't needle the hammers because they would simply
>break the needles they are that hard) .  To my point though - I broke
>another bass string about a week after he was there (come to think of it I
>wonder if it was the same one as before because, although I don't remember
>for sure, they are in the same area).  My question is - is it the hammers -
>is it me - I can be aggressive if I want to be.:-)  What can I do about it -
>does it just need voicing or is it possible that the hammers are so hard
>that new hammers are needed?   The Technician is scheduled to come back on
>the Third - and I think the string is covered under Yamaha's warranty - what
>about the hammers if that's the culprit?  I never did get the regulation and
>free tunings that are part of the Yamaha warranty.:-(
>Tom Martin
>
>http://www.geocities.com/hotsprings/villa/4107
>martitn5@juniata.edu

Tom,

I can help you with your questions though you may not like all of the
answers.  The Yamaha C3 is a very good piano and though string scale design
is not my field, all of the Yamahas I have worked on have been very evenly
scaled and easy to tune.  Therefor, the problem does not lie in the piano.
>From your description I suspect a combination of problems.

First is playing, string breakage usually comes from heavy hitters.  I have
keyboard faculty members here that break strings occasionally, it happens.
When one customer is constantly breaking strings though, there is a
problem.  At three strings in seven years you are far from the worst I have
seen but you are still causing some problems.  Generally when a string
breaks during playing, one note is being hit hard, repeatedly, with the
sustain pedal held.  If you imagine a string being struck by the hammer and
vibrating back and forth, if you let the key up and restrike that note the
damper first stops the string vibration and then the hammer hits it again.
When the pedal is held down, however, the damper does not stop the strings
movement before restriking so if the hammer hits the string hard when the
strings vibration is at the farthest point from the hammer that is when she
will break.  This string will usually break at the agraff or v bar, that
is, the end of the speaking length on the keyboard end.  it is unusual for
one to break at the tail end and come flying up toward the player (almost
hitting you in the eye).  In that case I imagine the string broke at the
other end of the speaking length right at the first bridge pin.  Unusual
but not unheard of.  If the string broke at the hitch pin I suspect the
problem was in the string or it's installation.  Otherwise, I would give
you the credit.

I also want to warn you that typically when a person is playing hard enough
to break strings they are doing all sorts of other damage to the piano.
Action centers are being worn out, key bushings trashed, regulation thrown
out because of wear on all the felt, etc.  Without seeing the piano I can
not say this is the case but if you feel this is true I would recommend you
reconsider your fortes or resign yourself to frequent visits from your
technician and higher than normal repair bills.  I also recommend that you
have your piano serviced more frequently, twice a year at least.  I have
many customers that I service several times a year.

As for your hammer problem, yes, that could very well be another factor in
your string breaking problem.  Again, I would have to see and hear your
piano to have any true opinion but the way you describe it it does sound
like a problem.  Incidently, hard hammers and very bright tone are another
result of playing too hard over a long period of time.  Yes, the softener
you mentioned is a legit voicing method.  What you will find in voicing is
that every technician does it differently and they all argue that there way
is the only correct one.  The only down side of using softeners that I know
of is the fear that the chemicals will lead to corrosion on the strings.
If your technician sez that your hammers are so hard that they would break
needles, your hammers are way too hard.  There are methods of softening
such hammers but in the long run you may be better off replacing them.

My reecommendation to you is to find a technician you trust and follow
their advice.  You may already have a very good tech.  I also recommend
having a tech who is an RPT in the Piano Technicians Guild.  If you feel
like you need a second opinion hire another tuner to come to your home.
This advice is difficult to give without seeing and hearing your piano.  I
may be way off but I have only your description to go by.

Finally, I encourage pianists to learn as much as they can about their
instrument, as you have done.  I will warn you, however, that there are
many repairs and procedures that take a long time to master.  Be very
careful about taking reapirs into your own hands.  You could easily do more
damage and end up paying a technician far more than you would have.

Hope this helps.

chris

-Christopher D. Purdy R.P.T.   School of Music  Ohio University  Athens OH

-purdy@oak.cats.ohiou.edu   (614) 593-1656    fax# (740) 593-1429