<!doctype html public "-//W3C//DTD W3 HTML//EN"> <html><head><style type="text/css"></style><title>Re: harpsichord and piano forte help</title></head><body> <div>At 11:29 AM -0400 9/14/01, Wimblees@AOL.COM wrote:</div> <blockquote type="cite" cite><br></blockquote> <blockquote type="cite" cite><font face="Arial" size="-1" color="#000000">The bass strings are "brass" and are the ones, for the most part, that are breaking. One thought I had on this is that there are three notes with .025 brass strings. I don't have any more of that size, but I do have .024 in steel. Would that be a good substitute, or does the timbre change too much?</font></blockquote> <div><font face="Arial" color="#000000"><br></font></div> <div><font face="Arial" color="#000000"><br></font></div> <div><font face="Arial" color="#000000">Sorry, I came in late to this thread but I would like to add my own 2 cents. Steel does not substitute for brass. In fact, depending on the make of the instruments you may not have any steel at all, but low tensile iron. And the top bass may not be brass but phosphor bronze, strong but not a pretty sound IMHO. Do<u> no</u>t get brass and steel from Schaff. Zuckerman or Hubbard or The Instrument Workshop will be happy to supply appropriate wire. Find the makers and contact them for the stringing schedule. New brass strings do not sound as good as they will, it takes a while for the tone to develop. Thin wire often breaks at the end of the loop winding if it was overly stressed during twisting, if it was not held tight enough the loop will pull out. Get a basic Harpsichord or Fortepiano reference book and learn something about the instruments, dont assume that modern piano knowledge will transfer. Practice those historical temperaments!</font></div> </body> </html>