<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN"> <HTML><HEAD> <META http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; = charset=us-ascii"> <META content="MSHTML 6.00.2737.800" name=GENERATOR></HEAD> <BODY> <DIV>The tubby sound is not likely the hammers.  They have been on = there long enough to be hard from oxidizing wool if not use.  The tubby you = hear is several things that happen in almost all older uprights.  I should = know --we restore the "tub" right out of these same pianos.  </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>First, the bass bridge has two or three glue joints that are loose.  If you play notes going down the scale and = you notice a decrease in volume when you change from the lowest tenor note on the = long bridge to the topmost wound string on the bass bridge, it indicates that the = bass bridge is loose from the apron or the apron is loose from the = soundboard.  The repair is to remove strings at the hitch pin end and clean off the = old glue, reglue and screw it back together at each glue = joint.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Bass strings may be dead. If you notice they do not ring but a few seconds = the copper patina has filled the interior vacancies as the copper winds around the = steel core and the strings are far too stiff to vibrate well.  If you = take a really dead bass string loose and hold it at about a 45 degree angle to = the ground you will notice it goes straight up and is stiff as a = yardstick.  A new string or one that is not dead held the same way will arc towards = the ground from the weight of the string itself.  This can be improved by = tying a loop in the wound part of the string, making a loop about 3-4 inches = diameter, then pull the loop from end to end of the windings several times with the end = of your tuning hammer or a screwdriver.  Make sure you do not pull the loop = off the end of the windings on to the single core wire or the center core wire = will bend sharply and often break.  How do you think I know = that?</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Also if the piano has lost enough crown it will also ring a short time and = sound tubby.  The sound I notice makes the lowest tenor notes on the long = bridge especially sound more like banging on metal sewer pipes than = strings.  This indicates to me that the board needs to be recrowned which is what we do = with every piano we restore.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>D.L. = Bullock    St. Louis <A = href="http://www.thepianoworld.com/">www.thepianoworld.com</A> </DIV> Piano World   2732 = Cherokee Saint Louis MO 63118 314-772-6676 <BLOCKQUOTE> <DIV class=OutlookMessageHeader dir=ltr align=left>-----Original Message----- From: Alpha88x@aol.com [mailto:Alpha88x@aol.com] Sent: Friday, April 23, 2004 2:06 PM To: pianotech@ptg.org Subject: bass hammers = sound "tubby" when played </DIV>greetings,       &nbsp= ;     When the bass hammers of a particular turn of the century upright are = played they sound "tubby", a very "round" dull sound. Would these hammers be = a candidate for hardening solution or is it the strings' quality? I = think it is the hammers because the bass hammers have hardly any grooves and show = little wear. Suggestions? Julia Gottchall, Reading, PA </BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>