<HTML> <HEAD> <TITLE>Re: harpsichord and piano forte help</TITLE> </HEAD> <BODY> On 9/14/01 7:42 AM, "Wimblees@AOL.COM" <W= imblees@AOL.COM> wrote: <BLOCKQUOTE>In a message dated 9= /13/01 8:11:27 PM Central Daylight Time, avery@ev1.net writes: <BLOCKQUOTE>Wim, Welcome to the world of University work! :-) Others have answered your harpsichord question so I have just one comment. Make sure your harpsichord isn't one that has TWO      pitch leve= ls in addition to the A-440 position. We have one but at the time we got it, I'd never heard of this. Stupidly, I broke several strings trying to "tune"= the thing before I realized this. :-( I try to tune ours every week or two, even when they're not being used for concerts. Or at least, go in and check the pitch levels. Avery </BLOCKQUOTE> Avery Yes, one of the h'chords has a slide out cheek block, which allows the acti= on to slide over. I made sure it was in place before tuning it. It is a doub= le keyboard, with three sets of strings. (I beleive that is the Italian h'ch= ord.) That in itself was difficult to figure out. I tuned both h'chords again yesterday. One string was broken. Here is what = is interesting. The strings on the h'chords have been broken in three differ= ent places. At the tuning pin, at the strike point, and at the hitch pin. Bu= t it isn't at the loop. It is at the end of the winding. In those cases I wa= s able to unwind enough of the coil to make a new loop. I can understand a s= tring breaking at the pin. But why would a string break at the strike point?= Wim </BLOCKQUOTE> Wim,  Are these strings brass or look like brass?  If so I would check= the composition of the metal.  My experience is with brass looking wir= e, which was another metal that was low tension.  I can’t remembe= r  but it was call phorphorous something>   The strings in= the low bass area have been replaced.  However the sound timbre has ch= anged.     Enjoy harpsichord work !    As Avery= points out,  this is part of University work that isn’t in the m= anual.  How were the harpsichords maintained before you arrived?  =  My position is that the harpsichordist and student players should know= how to maintain, tune, and regulate their own instrument.  Being that = the adjustments and tuning change before you  put your hammer away, &nb= sp;the performers need to be able to do their own maintenance.  Between= regularly scheduled maintenance  -  keep in tune.... Joel --  Joel A. Jones Senior Piano Technician 1501 Humanities Building 455 North Park Street Madison, WI  53706 FAX 608 - 262 - 8876 608 - 263 - 1887 http://uwpianos.music.wisc.edu/ </BODY> </HTML>