Dean~ Thanks so much for the heads up. I wondered if it might be something like poor scaling, or design. Perhaps the bass string windings/loadings were poorly calculated, so that the original strings are close to breaking point when up to pitch. I'm sure the right angle bends of the strings around the upper bridge pins couldn't be helping matters either. ~Kendall _____ From: Dean May [mailto:deanwmay at gmail.com] Sent: Tuesday, November 25, 2008 5:39 PM To: Pianotech List Subject: Re: [pianotech] String breakage, other problems,on Schafer and Sons piano I encountered an identical problem on that same model. I ordered a replacement set from Mapes and explained the problem to them. I think they rescaled it. That piano in the same high school choir room has not broken another string in more than 15 years. I think it is a high tension scale problem that can rear its ugly head after the piano is 10-15 years old, depending in part on how much hard playing it has had. -- Dean Dean May cell 812.239.3359 PianoRebuilders.com 812.235.5272 Terre Haute IN 47802 _____ From: pianotech-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces at ptg.org] On Behalf Of Kendall Ross Bean Sent: Tuesday, November 25, 2008 7:24 PM To: pianotech at ptg.org Subject: [pianotech] String breakage, other problems,on Schafer and Sons piano I'm tuning/servicing a certain piano that I'm concerned might have a string breakage problem, (and possibly others!) and I'm wondering about what to watch out for, and how to advise the customer. (Also a very sluggish action, which seems to be mostly tight keybushings....) In particular, I am wondering if anyone here on the List has had problems with these pianos. (Or any other problems you may feel inspired to share about Schafer & Sons pianos in general.) The critter in question is a 20-year-old Schafer & Sons VS-44 44" vertical, (made around 1988, according to Pierce). -Not my favorite piano to work on, (not the best, but also not the worst) but so far, I haven't had a boatload of problems with Schafer & Sons. (Haven't worked with a whole lot of them either, though). I haven't personally worked on this particular model before. I think the piano may have originally been made in South Korea by Samick. (Or possibly Daewoo...) The most immediate problem seems to be string breakage (bass strings), but I would be very interested in hearing about any other problems anyone else in this forum has run into with regularity with these pianos, either as a brand, or this particular model. The piano hasn't turned into a real major problem yet, -but I am concerned that it might. I don't think this piano had ever really been tuned since it was new. It was 60 cents flat. In the process of raising pitch, two bass strings broke (among the lowest "singles"). I was doing a 12 cent overpull, (-that is about all the risk I was willing to take). The piano still ended up around 12 cents flat when I was through with the pitch raise. I still have to go back to replace the broken bass strings and do the final tuning(s). What I am wondering is, based on others' experience, how many more strings are likely to break? Are the ones that broke a harbinger of things to come? Should I order a whole new set of single/all bass strings? The strings that are on the piano are pretty clean - they are not rusty or oxidized, and still sound good. There is no sign of other strings ever having broken. (But like I say, I don't think it has been tuned much, if ever. Part of the problem I think is, on this model, the bass strings are forced to make a very acute angle turn (approaching 90 degrees!) around the upper bridge pins just under the tuning pins. The piano supposedly has a "lifetime warranty" (ha ha). (Does that mean if a bunch of bass strings break, Schafer & Sons will/should cover it?) Thanks in advance~ Kendall Ross Bean PianoFinders www.pianofinders.com <http://www.pianofinders.com/> e-mail: kenbean at pianofinders.com phone: (925) 676-3355 Connecting Pianos and People -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: <http://ptg.org/pipermail/pianotech_ptg.org/attachments/20081125/5f40d19d/attachment.html>
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