breaking strings

[Jim Coleman, Sr.]

Hi Clyde:

There are two principal reasons why young bass strings break. One of them
is where there is a very sharp angle around the V-Bar pin. The other is
when the Bass V-Bar is high and the Tuning pin coil is low and close to the
V-Bar. The downward angle from the V-Bar to the bottom coil is so great that
the string tends to jump over its own coil thereby causing a very sharp
bend at the point of added tension as the pin is tightened. Breakage at this
location can take place on brand new pianos. In order to lessen this 
possibily, one can loosen the coil and tilt it so that the string does not
jump over its own coil.

Jim Coleman, Sr.


On Tue, 6 Oct 1998, Clyde Hollinger wrote:

> Friends:
> 
> OK, so this piano is nothing special, for sure.  1956 K & C console. 
> But when I went to tune it today, 3 (yes, that's THREE!)  single wound
> bass strings tore!  I was fit to be tied!  I HATE hearing them things go
> bang like that!
> 
> One string was knotted by a previous tuner, and I had replaced one four
> years ago.  What is going on here?  No rust or anything, was tuned in
> 92, 93, 94, 96 and now 98, always in October.  Any ideas?  I'm afraid to
> touch the thing again.  One other oddity, if it's a clue; it's always
> 10-15 cents flat, unusual for a piano this age even if it IS tuned only
> every two years.
> 
> Clyde Hollinger
> 
>