<HTML>In a message dated 3/21/03 1:50:14 AM !!!First Boot!!!= , HazenBannister@cs.com writes: <BLOCKQUOTE TYPE=CITE style="BORDER-LEFT: #0000ff 2px solid; MARGIN-LEFT= : 5px; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px">Hi,   Today I had to tune an older console Chickering,and over pulled it 4 = cents,as it was below standard pitch.I satrted pitching it from AO,with my a= ccutuner,tuned a couple of notes,and bamm,a broken string.A few more notes,a= nother broken string,and another.I let the pitch down first,even used a lubr= icate around the hitch pins,and on the coils.I have never felt a string resp= ond in this manner,as,I would let the pitch down,and it would go down smooth= .But as soon as I tried to bring it back up,it wouldn't budge,and if it did,= bamm.Even a half step low,it still would not come back smoothly,also this wa= s in the low bass only.Has anyone ever run across anything like this.I have = been tuning since the seventies,and have never had this kind of problem.The = strings were dead sounding,and he decided to restring the bass,thank goodnes= s,as I was about stumped.When I went to take off the bottom string,it broke = at the coil. Thanks, Hazen Bannister </BLOCKQUOTE> Hazen I've had the same problem with 50's - 60's Chickerings. I think it is becaus= e they use a very high tension scale. While the tension on most pianos strin= gs are at about 50% to 70% of breaking, I think the Chickerings are at about= 90 - 95% of breaking. The only way to bring a piano like that up to pitch is to bring only up to p= itch, but do it several times, until it stays. Good luck Wim </HTML>