Piano Firing Missiles at Church Congregation

[Kevin E. Ramsey]

This is a multi-part message in MIME format.

---------------------- multipart/alternative attachment
    Good advice Brian! Something else you might want to do is voice =
those bass hammers so that they aren't rock hard on the strike point. =
Also, I have found that people who play in Churches like this one regard =
the right pedal as the "gas" pedal; It won't go unless it's down. I once =
had to adjust the pedal so that it barely lifted off the strings, which =
only meant that the slightest relaxation on the pedal would slightly =
damp the strings. I remember reading once that one theory for breaking =
strings is that the string is struck while it is wildly oscillating and =
just happens to be at it's furthest point from the string when struck =
again.   =20
        I tuned for a Baptist church once where this was happening all =
the time, and did these things, and that really reduced the number of =
broken strings. As far as increasing the let-off, I figure no one is =
going to be playing that piano softly anyway.


Kevin E. Ramsey
ramsey@extremezone.com
  ----- Original Message -----=20
  From: Brian Lawson=20
  To: pianotech@ptg.org=20
  Sent: Saturday, January 27, 2001 10:48 AM
  Subject: Re: Piano Firing Missiles at Church Congregation


  As the piano is miked, close the lid as I guess its just open for =
visual effect.
  Raise hammer line, lower let-off  and adjust all the rest of it to =
make it work with less power, turn up the volume of the moniter speaker, =
have it stand next to pianist's ear.

  Some of the above may work, some you can laugh at

  Brian Lawson, RPT
  Johannesburg, South Africa

  TEXOMA CHAPTER
  http://texoma.int.chapter.tripod.com

    ----- Original Message -----=20
    From: Billbrpt@AOL.COM=20
    To: pianotech@ptg.org=20
    Sent: Saturday, January 27, 2001 7:12 PM
    Subject: Piano Firing Missiles at Church Congregation


    List,=20

    Yes, it's true and I need some opinions on what to do about it.  It =
is a=20
    Young Chang Grand model G-185, only a few years old.  It is =
meticulously=20
    cared for but early in it's service, the pianist at this, shall we =
say,=20
    "spirit filled" church complained of bass strings breaking and =
shooting out=20
    of the piano.=20

    I have tried all of the usual.  I filed the hammers.  A monitor =
feeds back=20
    sound to the pianist.  When I explained to the church directors that =
it is=20
    the "vigorous" style of playing that sometimes causes strings to =
break, the=20
    pianist resigned.  Things were OK for a while but now there is a =
young lady=20
    who is firing scuds at the congregation faster than I can get there =
to=20
    collect them, get them duplicated and replace them.=20

    She is quite upset and beside herself.  She refuses to believe that =
it is the=20
    *way* the piano is played that is causing this.  She claims that she =
has=20
    played the piano "all her life" and has never seen or even heard of =
this=20
    happening.  The piano has a string cover which she yanks out and =
throws in=20
    the corner.  She also says she has never played a piano with a =
"blanket" in=20
    it and just "couldn't" play with it in there.  I have firmly =
insisted that at=20
    this point, it is a matter of public safety and won't have any =
effect on the=20
    sound.=20

    I am thinking that these wound strings must have particularly high =
tension.  =20
    Does anyone know if this is so?  Over the years I have heard of =
other such=20
    instances that were cured by replacing the wound strings with a set =
of=20
    lighter gauged, "happy" strings.  It would seem to me that a lower =
tension=20
    would solve the problem but in reading the recent post about =
"replacement=20
    strings", I am confused.  Some of these strings have been breaking =
at the=20
    bass bridge termination point rather than the agraffe.  That seems =
very=20
    unusual to me.=20

    Should the manufacturer supply a new set of wound strings and if so, =
should=20
    they be a set designed for lower tension?  I presume that heavier =
gauged,=20
    higher tension strings provide a bigger, bolder sound.  What effect =
would=20
    lower tension have?  Just as a theoretical question, would tuning =
the=20
    instrument to a lower pitch, say 100 cents lower prevent this from =
happening=20
    (with the same gauge but a *new* set of strings)?  (I do not view =
this as an=20
    option, just a possibility that might work in some other =
circumstance).  (I=20
    also would not even consider altering the regulation to deliberately =
produce=20
    less power).=20

    It is also interesting to note that to date, only wound strings have =
broken,=20
    no plain wire.=20

    Bill Bremmer RPT=20
    Madison, Wisconsin=20

---------------------- multipart/alternative attachment
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: https://www.moypiano.com/ptg/pianotech.php/attachments/7c/4a/25/3b/attachment.htm

---------------------- multipart/alternative attachment--