<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN"> <html> <head> <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset=ISO-8859-1"> <title></title> </head> <body text="#000000" bgcolor="#ffffff"> Geoff,<br> <br> The way my ears get dialed to 10 when I'm tuning, my ears just about blow their voice coils when a string pops.  So I try to avoid it happening in the first place. You're right, of course, that there's no way to know for sure – just some things you can do to improve on the odds.<br> <br> When a string does break, it helps to have the attitude and total belief that it was its time to break. It goes without saying that if you were listening to one string while pulling on another, then you would replace it at your own expense. But the other times when you were taking normal precautions, string breakage happens to us all and if you explain to the customer the facts of life, they will most likely take your word for it. It helps that you used to tune for Cristofori or equivalent and the broken string spiel rolls off your tongue without a hint of stutter.<br> <br> One thing I do, especially on a first-time tuning, is to inspect the piano while the customer is standing there and if it's an oldie, hasn't been tuned in many years, and/or already has broken strings, this is a good time to talk about the probability of string breakage, what causes them to break, and what you charge for replacements. If the owner leaves the house and you haven't advised them of the possibility of string breakage, then it would be harder to sell, to some people, anyway. <br> <br> As to prevention, I think it's critical to pay attention to how well pitch follows tuning pin movement. If I notice that the pin has moved but the pitch stayed the same, then I immediately drop the pitch to break the rust bond or whatever is resisting the pull up. Slacking the string a little and bringing it back up tends to "lubricate" the bearing points. <br> <br> I was taught to paint a little Liquid Wrench onto the pressure bar and "V" bar points before attempting a pitch raise but have long since abandoned the practice. There are times when lubrication might help, I suppose, but the only times I've used it in recent memory was to improve the tunability of a string which was rusty and dragging on the understring cloth.<br> <br> HTH<br> Tom Cole<br> <br> <br> Geoff Sykes wrote:<br> <blockquote type="cite" cite="mid000601c60aa5$a4844010$6500a8c0@geoff2r3ofonmy"> <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; "> <title>Message</title> <meta content="MSHTML 6.00.2900.2769" name="GENERATOR"> <div><font face="Arial" size="2"><span class="687360105-27122005">Greetings all, and happy holidays to everyone --</span></font></div> <div> </div> <div><font face="Arial" size="2"><span class="687360105-27122005">I had such great success with my last question that I thought I would post a second one. (I have a third one coming in a couple of days.)</span></font></div> <div> </div> <div><font face="Arial"><span class="687360105-27122005"><font size="2">Broken strings happen! Sometimes you can see the precursor evidence that indicates strings MAY break, but there really is no way to know for sure that it may until it does.</font></span></font></div> <div> </div> <div><font face="Arial" size="2"><span class="687360105-27122005">When a string breaks, how do you explain to your customer that it wasn't your fault? Naturally this may be a little easier with established customers with whom you have developed some trust. But what about those first time customers? The ones to whom you may have already had to explain the concept of pitch adjustment and stability, and that subsequent additional charge. How do you explain the situation, either before or after the fact, so that they will not only pay for the repair, but also (hopefully) call you again?</span></font></div> <div> </div> <div><font face="Arial" size="2"><span class="687360105-27122005">Bonus question: What measures do you take, beyond being careful and crossing your fingers, to help prevent string breakage?</span></font></div> <div> </div> <div><font face="Arial" size="2"><span class="687360105-27122005">-- Geoff Sykes</span></font></div> <div><font face="Arial" size="2"><span class="687360105-27122005">-- Assoc. Los Angeles</span></font></div> </blockquote> </body> </html>