Sucessful string splicing, angry client.

[Diane Hofstetter]

Les,

Can you tell me more about that Schimmel?

I replaced G#6 wire on a Schimmel grand--two years old, at no charge to the customer, paid by the dealer.
Something  is wrong with that note that I couldn't figure in my first visit.  It seems that if the soft pedal is at rest, the hammer hits on the capo bar, if the soft pedal is in use, hammer hits all three strings.  I looked at the hammer line and it seems fine, G#6 hammer sits nicely in line with the others, which don't have this problem.  It is also centered under the three strings of the unison.

The piano is grossly out of tune, although customer claims they had it tuned about 6 months ago. 

 The 14-year old son asked me dozens of intelligent, well thought-out questions as I replaced the string.  When I finished, I asked him if he would like to tune a string.  His response was immediate, positive and happy, so I gave him a short lesson.

Some of the strings in a given unison were as much as 6 cents off from each other, and I began to suspect that maybe he has tried tuning it already.  If so,  I have heard much worse from beginning tuning students.  Since he and his younger brother have been taking piano lessons for 10 and 4years respectively now, I figure they need the Schimmel to be in good tune, so offered to loan him a used practice piano, a tuning hammer,  and some beginning lessons if he promises to practice tuning as much as he practices playing.

I go back next week to retune the new string, and look closer at what is happening to cause the hammer to block on the capo bar.  

Any ideas very welcome!
Diane


Sucessful string splicing, angry client.
Leslie Bartlett l-bartlett at sbcglobal.net 



Any repair that I consider my self an expert at I charge for, if I'm
learning or experimenting and it fails, I might eat it.
                 Doesn't a failed splice display lack of expertise, or
experimentation gone awry?  Fail and expert don't seem in the same realm
with each other......

I had a string break on a Schimmel last week, the guy saying it was "tuned a
year ago"........  I'd put my career on the line, claiming it hadn't been
tuned in at least four.  Top was 35 cents out, lower stuff about 15.  After
he invoked a number of deities he wanted nothing more than to be rid of
me....... and I of him.    I even did a really nice splice.  So, I bit the
bullet on pitch raise, didn't charge for the splice, gave him the name of
two other tuners, and then as I was heading away I called them both and
warned them of this 'creature' who might be calling.  Wouldn't you know it,
I immediately went to a Yamaha GH1 which hadn't been tuned in at least 10
years..........  65 cents off in the top- beginning at about C5, rather than
at the bottom..........   Yeow. Bad day in the neighborhood......
les bartlett


Diane Hofstetter