<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN"> <HTML><HEAD> <META http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1"> <META content="MSHTML 6.00.2900.3059" name=GENERATOR> <STYLE></STYLE> </HEAD> <BODY bgColor=#ffffff> <DIV><FONT face=Tahoma size=2>    Gerald:</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Tahoma size=2>    From your description of the hammer wear, it doesn't seem as though they would need replacing at this point.  Reshaping, yes.  The strings breaking at the agraffe would suggest "work hardening."  This condition may be created by hard playing (and a lot of it) which makes the strings move up and down, back and forth which causes the wire to get brittle and break at the termination point closest to the hammer--the agraffe.  Using too much sustain pedal will also make the problem worse again, excess string movement.  I suggest replacing strings as needed and study the habits of the primary player.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Tahoma size=2>    Mike Kurta</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Tahoma size=2>    Syracuse chapter</FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>