$450.00 Bass strings???????

[Farrell]

Sure, let's talk. I suspect I may know what gives right off. You work on
Steinways and M&Hs. At this early stage of my career, I tend to work on
Aeolians and Esteys. The grand pianos I have rebuilt so far tend to be 4'
10", or there abouts. The specific Estey referenced in my post has 55 (FIFTY
FIVE!) bass strings. Twice as many strings as a real piano means twice the
price. David Sanderson charges $8 per string, regardless of length. 55 x $8
= $440. How many bass strings on a S&S D or B? Maybe 25 or 30? 30 x $8 =
$240, which is a tad closer to your figures.

Again, I have no idea what the other string makers charge per string. I went
with David because I felt comfortable with him and have been astounded with
his strings. But I have not tried any of the others yet, and don't have any
current plans to do that. I have heard nothing but good things about the G.
C. product, except that he can hard to get a hold of (and I might even add
that the Sanderson strings come extremely close to the terminus also - very
accurate measurements are imperative).

I would imagine the above makes the string fee a bit more palatable? Or am I
missing the point?

Terry Farrell
Piano Tuning & Service
Tampa, Florida
mfarrel2@tampabay.rr.com

----- Original Message -----
From: "Erwinpiano" <Erwinpiano@email.msn.com>
To: <pianotech@ptg.org>
Sent: Sunday, March 04, 2001 1:24 PM
Subject: $450.00 Bass strings???????


>   Terry
>
>      So glad you (I) opened  this can o worms in regards to bass string
> quality and prices.  I realize this is a different thread than the "one
> scale for M&H AA" but that ones well worn and needs possible retiring.
>
>      In my response to Bill Ballard he was expressing frustration with
> incorrectly made strings,winding lengths,e.t.c. My statement to him was
that
> there was only $50 difference between  the low and high quality bass strg
> sets/makers and that if you have even one glitch or other unhappy exp.
with
> the low end set it becomes a VERY expensive LOW end set.(It' Possible to
> have same problems with some high end sets)   Your response was that the
> Sanderson's sets of strings run $450.00.
> U.S.  ( YIKES!!!!!!!!! my response).  Can we talk.
>
>       The following commentary is strictly my opinion(which I'm fond of )
> and one formed from many hours of grinding my teeth and pounding on the
> table in frustration over bass string HASSLES.
>
>
>  Ari Isaac -bass strings                         $225.00  unusual ideas
bout
> scaling
>  Steinway- supplied MAPES strings      $ Don't know much about it
>  Schaff -strings as you stated run appox. $180.00 scale help unknown
>  Mapes- roughly the same                     $180.00good luck with rescale
> help
>  G.C. strings -Rescaling  part of price   $200.00-$240.00 depending on
> no.strgs.
>  Sanderson -Rescaling part of the price $450.00 Give or take/options
>  Others- no experience
>
>      Having tried many sets of most all but the Sanderson's strings I can
> say that
> there are huge differences. I can also say that every bass string maker
has
> goofs blunders and anomaly's proving to me that bass string making is not
> an exact science but a practice of an art that is limited by quality of
> materials, design and human skill/error. As a rebuilder seeking superior
> results(aren't we all)
> and  efficiency I can't long afford to work with strings that are 1. Poor
> sounding or unpredictable. 2. Frequently giving problems serious enough to
> replace one or two or more strings after the initial installation.3.  Or
> having false
> beats develop over time on a routine basis.
>    Having to go back and redo a string or a set makes that brand the very
> most expensive strings money and frustration can buy.  I put a very high
> premium on the value of my time, the end tonal result and my sanity!
String
> replacement after the fact is MADDENING. (I THINK THAT'S CLEAR)
>     That being said some people are more adept at winding/producing
strings
> and understand the principles more clearly and care about the end results
> more intensely.  For that I'm grateful and I don't have to design scales
or
> wrap the string. I have other things I like to do!!!
>    Now just because a set of bass strings is more spensive doesn't mean
it's
> better although it could if you'll follow my logic.  I.E. The Isaac string
I
> used lot of .  When they were right they were really good but the
> aggravation of continual falsebeats,(which ment reordering, replacing and
> delivery schedules disrupted and sometimes very expensive follow up
service
> calls to far away locations) inconsistent wraps and poor customer service
> finally got the best of me. A VERY Expensive string!!I hope he has
rectified
> his difficulties and is doing well but I will not use them again. For
those
> of you wondering ,I used dozens of sets of the above, so I think I gave it
a
> fair shot.
>
>    ON THE OTHER HAND.
>
>     Over the last 5yrs. I've used  at least 50 sets of  THE G.C. STRING
CO.
> ,as are many rebuilders dealing high end pianos, and have been ecstatic 1.
> With tone. It's clean well balanced easy to tune with only an occasional
> false beat. The wraps are very consistently within 1/2" of the
> terminus.(VERY STEINWAY SOUNDING)  Also DANNY IS VERY FUSSY about results
> and his ability to analyze scale design flaws.  In fact  scale analysis
and
> design is just part of the job.   If when I have questions about a scale
> that looks odd, like the M&H ? floating on the list or whatever ,I know
he's
> not going to duplicate some freak of engineering just because it was
> ORIGINAL.  Soooo with all due respect to the Sanderson's( the S.A.T.
CHANGED
> MY LIFE ) I ask an honest partially uniformed question.  Why should I pay
an
> extra one to two hundred dollars to get what I'm already getting???????
>
>    Considering all this which set of bass strings I'm I getting the most
> booing for my buck?
>     I consider theG.C.product, personal service and hassle free aspect of
> this supplier an incredible labor saver and hey since I'm not replacing
> faulty strings and pounding on the table in frustration I even have extra
> days to go fishing!!!!!!
>   I think I'll ask Danny to go fishing
>
>  NO LONGER STRUNG OUT(OR ALONG) IN MODESTO.
>   Sincerely, Respectfully submitted
>  Dale Erwin
>
>
>