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<DIV> Good advice Brian! Something else you might want =
to do
is voice those bass hammers so that they aren't rock hard on the strike =
point.
Also, I have found that people who play in Churches like this one regard =
the
right pedal as the "gas" pedal; It won't go unless it's down. I once had =
to
adjust the pedal so that it barely lifted off the strings, which only =
meant that
the slightest relaxation on the pedal would slightly damp the strings. I =
remember reading once that one theory for breaking strings is that the =
string is
struck while it is wildly oscillating and just happens to be at it's =
furthest
point from the string when struck again. </DIV>
<DIV> I tuned for a Baptist church =
once
where this was happening all the time, and did these things, and that =
really
reduced the number of broken strings. As far as increasing the let-off, =
I figure
no one is going to be playing that piano softly anyway.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Kevin E. Ramsey<BR><A
href="mailto:ramsey@extremezone.com">ramsey@extremezone.com</A></DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE dir=ltr
style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; =
BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<DIV
style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: =
black"><B>From:</B>
<A title=lawsonic@global.co.za =
href="mailto:lawsonic@global.co.za">Brian
Lawson</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A =
title=pianotech@ptg.org
href="mailto:pianotech@ptg.org">pianotech@ptg.org</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Saturday, January 27, =
2001 10:48
AM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Re: Piano Firing =
Missiles at
Church Congregation</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#000000 size=2>As the piano is miked, close the =
lid as I
guess its just open for visual effect.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#000000 size=2>Raise hammer line, lower =
let-off
and adjust all the rest of it to make it work with less power, turn up =
the
volume of the moniter speaker, have it stand next to pianist's
ear.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#000000 size=2>Some of the above may work, some =
you can laugh
at</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><BR>Brian Lawson, RPT<BR>Johannesburg, South Africa</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>TEXOMA CHAPTER<BR><A
=
href="http://texoma.int.chapter.tripod.com">http://texoma.int.chapter.t=
ripod.com</A><BR></DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE
style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; =
BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<DIV
style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: =
black"><B>From:</B>
<A title=Billbrpt@AOL.COM
href="mailto:Billbrpt@AOL.COM">Billbrpt@AOL.COM</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A =
title=pianotech@ptg.org
href="mailto:pianotech@ptg.org">pianotech@ptg.org</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Saturday, January 27, =
2001 7:12
PM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Piano Firing =
Missiles at
Church Congregation</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV><FONT face=arial,helvetica><FONT size=2>List, =
<BR><BR>Yes,
it's true and I need some opinions on what to do about it. It =
is a
<BR>Young Chang Grand model G-185, only a few years old. It is =
meticulously <BR>cared for but early in it's service, the pianist at =
this,
shall we say, <BR>"spirit filled" church complained of bass strings =
breaking
and shooting out <BR>of the piano. <BR><BR>I have tried all of the =
usual.
I filed the hammers. A monitor feeds back <BR>sound to =
the
pianist. When I explained to the church directors that it is =
<BR>the
"vigorous" style of playing that sometimes causes strings to break, =
the
<BR>pianist resigned. Things were OK for a while but now there =
is a
young lady <BR>who is firing scuds at the congregation faster than I =
can get
there to <BR>collect them, get them duplicated and replace them. =
<BR><BR>She
is quite upset and beside herself. She refuses to believe that =
it is
the <BR>*way* the piano is played that is causing this. She =
claims
that she has <BR>played the piano "all her life" and has never seen =
or even
heard of this <BR>happening. The piano has a string cover =
which she
yanks out and throws in <BR>the corner. She also says she has =
never
played a piano with a "blanket" in <BR>it and just "couldn't" play =
with it
in there. I have firmly insisted that at <BR>this point, it is =
a
matter of public safety and won't have any effect on the <BR>sound.
<BR><BR>I am thinking that these wound strings must have =
particularly high
tension. <BR>Does anyone know if this is so? Over the =
years I
have heard of other such <BR>instances that were cured by replacing =
the
wound strings with a set of <BR>lighter gauged, "happy" strings. =
It
would seem to me that a lower tension <BR>would solve the problem =
but in
reading the recent post about "replacement <BR>strings", I am =
confused.
Some of these strings have been breaking at the <BR>bass =
bridge
termination point rather than the agraffe. That seems very =
<BR>unusual
to me. <BR><BR>Should the manufacturer supply a new set of wound =
strings and
if so, should <BR>they be a set designed for lower tension? I =
presume
that heavier gauged, <BR>higher tension strings provide a bigger, =
bolder
sound. What effect would <BR>lower tension have? Just as =
a
theoretical question, would tuning the <BR>instrument to a lower =
pitch, say
100 cents lower prevent this from happening <BR>(with the same gauge =
but a
*new* set of strings)? (I do not view this as an <BR>option, =
just a
possibility that might work in some other circumstance). (I =
<BR>also
would not even consider altering the regulation to deliberately =
produce
<BR>less power). <BR><BR>It is also interesting to note that to =
date, only
wound strings have broken, <BR>no plain wire. <BR><BR>Bill Bremmer =
RPT
<BR>Madison, Wisconsin</FONT> =
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