breaking strings

[Frank Cahill]

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


Hey, if you bend metal enough, it breaks.  I'm convinced that if you
know how to tune (not a beginner), you can't do much about breaking
strings.  I've tried the "tune flat then bring it up" trick, and it's no
gaurantee.

Of course, if you break more than one string on the same piano, the
customer is convinced it's your fault.  I lost a customer over this. 
She liked my tuning, my attitude toward her family, her 6 year old loved
me...but when that second string broke, that was it.

I guess I could have replaced the second strng for free, but let's
see..$14 for a string from Mapes and a second trip and install time,
plus lost income. One may argue that I should have bitten the bullet,
done the work for free, and kept the customer. But then they expect more
free work.
-- 

Frank Cahill
Associate Member
Northern Va