<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN"> <HTML><HEAD> <META http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; = charset=iso-8859-1"> <META content="MSHTML 6.00.2800.1264" name=GENERATOR> <STYLE></STYLE> </HEAD> <BODY bgColor=#ffffff> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Hi,  If the new string was just as = tubby and with a lack of overall sustain, I'd be inclined to check the bridge. Is it coming away slightly?  I use a blunt tool to = press down on the bridge whilst playing notes in that area.  If the sound = improves or becomes clearer, it's the bridge or soundboard that's = at fault.  If that makes no difference, it's probably in the string.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Good = luck!   </FONT></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=Tvak@aol.com href="mailto:Tvak@aol.com">Tvak@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, October 25, = 2003 2:46 PM</DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> tubby bass string = replacement tip</DIV> <DIV><BR></DIV><FONT face=arial,helvetica><FONT face=Geneva = color=#000000 size=2 FAMILY="SANSSERIF">List<BR><BR>I'm sure you've experienced = replacing a string on a piano that has dead, tubby bass strings, ending up with a = piano that has one bright, loud, sustaining key in the bass, next to the = dull thuds on either side.  Perhaps there are other solutions to this = problem (other than replacing the whole set), but I stumbled across something today = that I thought I'd share.  (Purists read no further lest you be = tarnished by the following.)<BR><BR>I was called in to tune the piano at a restaurant, = and replace a bass string which had broken.  The piano was a Story = & Clark (Samick) and is full of false beats in the treble and dead, = tubby bass strings.  When I mic-ed the broken string, I found that I did not = have one that size.  It was larger than a #1 Schaff universal replacement.  My original plan was to replace the string with a = universal and order a duplicate of the original to replace the universal.  = But not having a universal the correct size, I thought I would just leave it = as is, and return ASAP with the dupe.<BR><BR>But then I noticed the damper = felt was becoming deformed from the hammer repeatedly striking it.  = Without a string there, the damper would eventually become unusable and need to = be replaced, because obviously the piano player could not stop himself = from playing that low G, even if there was no sound.  <BR><BR>So I = decided to replace it with the largest string I had and hope that it didn't sound = too awful.<BR><BR>Well, when I tuned up the new string I was surprised to = find that it matched its tubby neighbors perfectly.  Because the = string was too small, the tension had to be lower to obtain the correct = pitch.  Because of the lower tension, it sounded just as tubby as the rest of = the section.<BR><BR>So, I'm considering leaving the universal in there, = and not replacing it with a correctly sized string.  After all, a perfect = duplicate of the original will stick out like a sore = thumb.<BR><BR>Expecting flames from this one, I'd never do it on a Steinway, honest, = <BR><BR>Tom Sivak</FONT><FONT face=Geneva color=#000000 size=2 = FAMILY="SANSSERIF"></FONT> </FONT></BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>