[pianotech] hammers or strings?

[erwinspiano at aol.com]

Usually it's a combination of things. But the end result is wire fatigue. We see this with many pianos that the hammers are to hard and the player is strong and able,often insensitive to the thrashing he/she is giving the piano. I'd sting it with Mapes Gold,file the capo. Denser pressed hammers with a really dense core or overly hardened Stwy hammers will both pop stings like popcorn. If it were me I'd install one of Ronsens many good offerings. Probably Weickert or Bacon Felt. I would avoid using the denser variety's of hammers in this case.
   I have a church with a Baldwin 6ft. 3" we rebuilt years ago. Imadgawa hammers and Issac bass strings. They had a guy that could pop bass strings at will. They started giving him the bill and he protested so they banned him from the piano. Done deal! 
  We installed A new set of GC bass strings and Ronsen hammers and the problems never came back and the piano sounds really quite good. 
  Dale Erwin






When you have a string breaker, there is nothing to do but replace the capo 
ection strings every few years.  Check the capo profile it may or may not be 
he problem.  The capo is where all the sharp bending occurs when it's played 
hat hard.
dp
David M. Porritt, RPT
porritt at smu.edu

      I have a customer with 5 grands and he is a stringbreaker.  Most 
f his grands have suffered from 1-4 broken strings,
ut the current problem is a Model B (1982) which is shedding strings  
n bunches....all in the upper 2 treble areas.  This
iano has its original lacquered hammers, moderately cut, and now it's 
econd set of treble strings.  I did not  put the replacement
trings on it so I do not know their origin.  I always use Roslau and 
arely in my 42 years of piano servicing have I had any
tring breakage.  Certainly not to this extent.
      The question I face is this:  The underside of the capo bar is, in 
y opinion, too sharp a profile.  (The strings are all being
hopped off at the bar.)  Should I propose stripping the piano down to 
he agraffes, dressing the underbar with emory paper
o a more gentle curve, and restringing the top 2 sections with Roslau. 
 Or replace the hammers with new hammers, properly
haped and properly voiced.  Or both?
                                                                        
                          Lee Morton
                                                                        
                          lee at leemortonpianos.com

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