Some time ago, I asked the list about a problem I was having with bass strings breaking in Wurlitzer consoles. I think I have found the cause of the problem, and will relate it to you. As some suggested, the pins were indeed driven in a little further to help with loose pins. This caused an extreme angle from the coil to the plate and the string overlapped onto the coil. Over time, the strings break at the stress point at the coil. The reason I think this is the cause is that I have tuned a couple of Wurlitzers since then and found that the pins in them were not in as far, and most were loose. Therefore, it appears that previous techs drove them in to correct the problem. Unfortunately, this creates a problem which shows up later. Now I know what NOT to do to "fix" a loose tuning pin in a Wurlitzer. The quick fix, while acceptable in larger upright pianos, may not be a long-term "solution" in the Wurlitzer console and spinet. For what it's worth, John Formsma
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