Baldwin L rusty strings

[Robert B Edwardsen]

I good nose should be able to determine if it's  rest stop.

Rob Edwardsen

Avery Todd wrote:

> List,
>
>    I ran into something today that I've never seen in almost 25 years of
> doing this type of work. Maybe I've just been lucky.
>    Anyway, I was called to tune a 2-1/2 yr. old Baldwin L. It had two
> broken strings, one on C6 and the other in the upper part of the tenor bass
> string area. The unusual thing, to me, is that BOTH strings broke on top of
> the bridge.
>    I discovered that the entire long bridge has this VERY rusty wire ONLY
> on top of the bridge between the bridge pins. The pins are the copper type.
> The other tenor bass strings down at the end of the long bridge where this
> one broke are even more rusty than the others. They look like strings I've
> seen on pianos that have had "swamp coolers" blowing on them for 20-30
> years.
>    Another strange thing is that the bass strings on the 'bass' bridge have
> NO  rust at all, except for the usual expected in a climate like Houston.
> The speaking lengths of the others and the waste end past the bridge are
> all normal, also.
>    I'm going to call Kent Webb tomorrow in case this turns out to be a
> warranty type of thing, but in the meantime I thought I'd check and see if
> anyone else has ever seen this on a piano that new. The customer is very
> particular about the piano and is very concerned about this being a
> continuing problem.
>    I don't see how there is any way it could be just the wire itself
> because the rest of the lengths are fine. Could it be the bridge lubricant?
> Could the bridge itself have held moisture in the air long enough at some
> point for this to happen? Considering the type of wood normally used there,
> I wouldn't think so.
>    I'm out of ideas. Any out there. This is an accu-just hitch pin piano,
> so *I* don't "really" want to restring it even if that should turn out to
> be the only remedy. Any other suggestions?
>    Thanks again.
>
> Avery
>
> ___________________________
> Avery Todd, RPT
> Moores School of Music
> University of Houston
> Houston, TX 77204-4893
> 713-743-3226
> atodd@uh.edu
> http://www.music.uh.edu/
>
> MUSIC DEFINITIONS:
>    Accelerando : what happens when drummers have to keep a steady beat.