Restringing just the bass

[Jeannie Grassi]

Dear List,
Unfortunately I have a client who had something spilled on the bass strings
of her 10 yr. old Kawai GS-40.  Now about 2/3 of the strings are ruined.
Which brings up a couple of questions for me in replacing them.
1)  Since the piano is only 10 yrs. old, would it still be a good idea to
replace them all so there will be no noticeable difference between the new
and the old? I've only replaced bass strings on old pianos and the
difference would have been obvious.
2) Should tension be let down on the whole piano to replace so many bass
strings?  Is there a preferred way of doing this?
3.)  How many follow up visits should I expect to make before these new
strings will be stable again?  In the past, I've done this on pianos in the
shop and didn't have to worry about additional trips to the customer who was
trying to play on the piano every day.

Thanks to you all in advance.  Any suggestions a/o comments are greatly
appreciated.

Jeannie Grassi, RPT
jgrassi@silverlink.net
Bainbridge Island, WA