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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Laura wrote;</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2> "<FONT face="Times =
New Roman"
size=3>Now that the Middle C string has been replaced, here is what =
the
technician<BR>thought about my Baldwin: he said it was "not =
undangerous"
to tune because<BR>the pins are quite tight, but when they move they =
move a
great amount<BR>unexpectedly. He thought I probably had that =
happen.<FONT
face=Arial size=2>"</FONT></FONT></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2> A tuning pin that is =
still tight
may give a cracking sound when you finally get it to move, but it won't =
move far
enough to break a string. Do you have a few pins that are unusually =
loose for
the rest of the piano? If so, you can go to the next tuning pin, =
thinking
that you're going to have to give it a mighty yank, like all the rest, =
and it
goes zoom! Even then, I doubt that very many people would go too far =
before they
stopped pulling on the tuning hammer. Perhaps what really happened here, =
is that
the piano has really really tight pins, and over the years various =
tuners have
been yanking those tuning pins back and forth trying to get that pin in =
tune.
All that flexing of the wire can weaken it.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2> "<FONT face="Times =
New Roman"
size=3>Apparently, there are also two or more cracks in the =
soundboard, which
were<BR>repaired earlier, but he also suggested it makes string breakage =
more<BR>possible; somehow to do with getting the piano pitch to A 440, =
which
was<BR>done two weeks before, but makes for tricky tuning. Too =
advanced
for me,<BR>I'm afraid. "</FONT></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><FONT face="Times New Roman"
size=3></FONT></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2> First of all, if the =
cracks have
been repaired, then they may as well not be there. I have tuned =
many
pianos that had cracks in the soundboards, and they tune just the same =
as
regular pianos. The problem with the cracks is they might affect =
tuning
stability (Never had any complaints, though) and they can cause buzzes =
against
the ribs.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2> "<FONT face="Times =
New Roman"
size=3>Incidentally, the technician replaced the string in about 20 =
minutes;
the<BR>Middle C string passes under the bass strings, which makes the =
process
a<BR>little harder and takes a little more finesse. (It's also =
much
more<BR>difficult to reach the bridge pins, since they lie under the =
bass
string<BR>section, in order to tap them in.) However, he noticed =
the
bridges were<BR>made with a graphite treatment/layer for the strings to =
pass
over them with<BR>less friction. I asked him to lubricate them, =
but he
didn't see the need<BR>given the graphite layer on the bridges. =
Baldwin
evidently has a clever<BR>feature there!"</FONT></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><FONT face="Times New Roman"
size=3></FONT></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2> You mean the bridges =
you see
there don't have graphite on them? I don't think I've ever seen a =
piano
that didn't have that black stuff on the bridges. Getting the string =
back to the
hitch pin isn't really a problem to any of us either. Why? Because =
we're
not afraid to get in there and move those bass strings to the side if we =
have
to. We'd probably touch up the tuning after doing a string replacement =
anyway,
so no big deal.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2> It's normal to be =
cautious when
learning to tune, but I don't think that you should be so =
concerned. Good
luck, and don't worry so much. </DIV>
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