<HTML style="FONT-FAMILY: MS Sans Serif; FONT-SIZE: x-small"><HEAD> <META name=GENERATOR content="MSHTML 8.00.6001.19120"></HEAD> <BODY style="WORD-WRAP: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space"> <DIV> <DIV>Another example of two screw ups!</DIV> <DIV>Joe</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV></DIV></DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <BLOCKQUOTE style="BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px"> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt Arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial; BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; font-color: black"><B>From:</B> <A title=tomgorley88@sonic.net href="mailto:tomgorley88@sonic.net">Tom Gorley</A> </DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To: </B><A title=joegarrett@earthlink.net href="mailto:joegarrett@earthlink.net">joegarrett@earthlink.net</A>;<A title=pianotech@ptg.org href="mailto:pianotech@ptg.org">pianotech@ptg.org</A></DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> 9/21/2011 12:18:29 AM </DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Re: [pianotech] Petrofs</DIV> <DIV><BR></DIV><FONT size=2>A local theater booked an act from New York.  The pianist advised that we should expect broken strings.  He said he broke many strings wherever he played.  The theater had 2 Yamaha U-1's.  He broke 8 bass strings in 3 days on the pit piano, in spite of having his own speaker monitor. <DIV><BR></DIV> <DIV>The piano never broke a string before that time nor after.<BR> <DIV><SPAN style="WIDOWS: 2; TEXT-TRANSFORM: none; TEXT-INDENT: 0px; BORDER-COLLAPSE: separate; FONT: medium Helvetica; WHITE-SPACE: normal; ORPHANS: 2; LETTER-SPACING: normal; COLOR: rgb(0,0,0); WORD-SPACING: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px" class=Apple-style-span> <DIV><BR> <BLOCKQUOTE type="cite"> <DIV style="WORD-WRAP: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space"> <DIV><SPAN style="LETTER-SPACING: 0px"> <DIV style="MARGIN: 0px; FONT: 20px 'Book Antiqua'; COLOR: rgb(34,58,168)"><SPAN style="FONT: 20px 'Corsiva Hebrew'"><B>   </B></SPAN><SPAN style="LETTER-SPACING: 0px">Tom Gorley</SPAN></DIV> <DIV style="MARGIN: 0px; FONT: 12px Kokonor"><SPAN style="LETTER-SPACING: 0px"><FONT class=Apple-style-span color=#910f08>Registered Piano Technician     </FONT></SPAN></DIV> <DIV style="MARGIN: 0px; FONT: 14px 'Book Antiqua'; COLOR: rgb(62,0,147)"><SPAN><B>      </B></SPAN></DIV></SPAN></DIV></DIV></BLOCKQUOTE></DIV> <DIV> <DIV style="WORD-WRAP: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space"> <DIV><SPAN style="LETTER-SPACING: 0px"> <DIV style="MARGIN: 0px; FONT: 14px 'Book Antiqua'; COLOR: rgb(62,0,147)"><SPAN style="LETTER-SPACING: 0px"><BR></SPAN></DIV></SPAN></DIV></DIV></DIV> <DIV><BR></DIV></SPAN><BR class=Apple-interchange-newline></DIV><BR> <DIV> <DIV>On Sep 20, 2011, at 10:47 PM, Joseph Garrett wrote:</DIV><BR class=Apple-interchange-newline> <BLOCKQUOTE type="cite"> <DIV>Wim said: "When a string breaks at the pin or hitch pin, it's usually a<BR>weak string. When it breaks at the agraff, it's usually hard playing. Do<BR>you remember where this string was broken? As Jerry mentioned, the guy<BR>might be practicing a particular piece of music where that note is hit<BR>repeatedly. One suggestion is to check the voicing on that particular note.<BR>It might be a little softer that the others around it, and the pianist is<BR>hitting that note a little harder to create a louder sound, this putting<BR>more strain on the string. "<BR><BR>Wim, <BR>You are partially correct. When a string breaks at the agraffe  or Capo,<BR>etc. it can be many things. The last thing I would fault is the playing,<BR>even tho I have known "musicians"(?) that could break strings at will.<BR>These knot heads usually did it to get the "Night Club Owner" to fix/tune<BR>the darned piano!<G> Or....simply because someone really pissed them off.<BR>The first things to look at are structural. If all appears to be o.k., then<BR>I'd check scale and hammers. Next regulation and then the possible "ham<BR>handed" player. I once had a 85 lb. female entertainer type that completely<BR>destroyed a Yamaha P22. Two reasons she did it: 1. she hated the gig and<BR>the piano! 2. because she could! The lady had "chops"!!! One of the main<BR>reasons these types of pianos self-destruct, is poor design, IMO. There<BR>seems to be the brunt of piano design, nowadays, is to make them more<BR>powerful. They try to do this by increasing the mass of the Sound board.<BR>Then, to get that moving they increase the mass of the bridges and greatly<BR>increase the tension! THEN, to add insult to injury, they put rock hard<BR>hammers on the damned piano to get it to overcome all the built in problems<BR>they put into the design! Stupid in my not so humble opinion. Then, they<BR>say it's a "paino". Bullpuckey! It's a PSO and nothling more. Any aural<BR>similarity to a real piano is purely coincidental! Lastly, we are asked to<BR>make it "sound" correct! Yeah, like that's going to happen! 1st most people<BR>of today don't have a clue of what a real piano is supposed to sound like.<BR>Why? Because the music they listen to is so distorted by the recording<BR>industry and the piano manufacturers. Even the top end pianos sound like<BR>crap, most of the time. They need someone, ( a miracle man, so to speak),<BR>like Andre to even make it slightly palatable. Tis' the "sound" of the<BR>times. Sigh!!<BR>That's the way I see it. (Definately why no one has ever asked me to design<BR>a piano.<G>)<BR>Regards,<BR>Joe<BR><BR><BR>Joe Garrett, R.P.T.<BR>Captain of the Tool Police<BR>Squares R I<BR><BR></DIV></BLOCKQUOTE></DIV><BR></DIV></FONT></BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>